Changing the Stars
by Etcetera Kit
Summary: A shadow falls over the earth, threatening the elemental balance. Five blue rangers must come together across space and time to find the power deep within to restore the balance. Discontinued.
1. Out of Time I

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note: **Well, this is the much-advertised and long-anticipated Blue Ranger story! Special thanks to Kaidence Ledger for acting as the test audience for this -- much hobbity love for that! These first three chapters introduce the core three rangers and the other two will be introduced in coming sections. I also have plans to incorporate Mystic Force towards the end. With that said, reviews are always appreciated, constructive criticism as well. Flames, as per usual, will be used to roast marshmallows for s'mores. Enjoy!

**Time Frame: **Chapter One is set just after _History_, but before _Badge_. The following chapters are set in the fall of 2005, the fall after _Dino Thunder_ ended.

* * *

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter One: Out of Time I**

_The room was large and airy, unlike anything he had experienced in his life. Large windows lined the walls, not quite going from ceiling to floor, but covered with filmy white shades, letting the light in. The foot of the bed led directly to a balcony. He stepped slowly. He couldn't remember being in the bed, but he must have been there at one point in time. The wooden floor was cool underneath his feet—a light breeze ruffled the thin white curtains around the doors to the balcony. Those doors were open, providing a tantalizing view of the world outside, of the golden sunlight, of the fresh smell of recently fallen rain._

_He inhaled deeply, taking in the damp scent on the air. In Newtech City, that meant that the day would be humid and, the moment he stepped outside on patrol, he would begin to sweat. It didn't help that their uniforms were made of a heavy gray fabric. This dampness was not unpleasant or humid. It was cool and inviting. He wanted to peel off his clothing and feel that cool mist on his skin. His clothes…_

_Looking down, he noticed that he was not wearing his uniform. That puzzled him, because he should have been wearing it or at least his work-out clothes or the clothes that he slept in. But he was clad in none of those items. Instead, a loose robe hung on his shoulders and remained untied. His chest was bared. His pants were loose and comfortable. He was barefoot and didn't seem to be wearing anything other than the robe and pants. The articles were a deep shade of red, too dark to be called crimson, almost black, but still distinctly red._

_This was not uncomfortable. On the contrary, he wanted to drop the robe from his shoulders and stand on the balcony. Taking slow, careful steps, he moved out to the balcony, the screens that separated the outdoors from the indoors drawn open. Once there, he felt the thin, silky fabric slide from his shoulders and to the ground behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling more than he normally would. The air, the breeze, was present and moving past his skin in an almost sensual manner. But that dampness, that mist, was there as well, but a different force from the air, remaining by itself, liquid and separate. The air and the water worked together, but remained a different force._

_He turned back into the room. A candle was lit by the bed. As if in a trance, he walked towards it, drawn to the flickering flame in a way he couldn't describe. The pale yellow fire danced atop the wax, threatening to extinguish with just the right gust of wind. Slowly and cautiously, he extended his hand to the flame. The fire didn't burn, just provided a pleasant tickling sensation against his palm. Using a scooping motion, he moved his palm upward, fascinated that he had taken the fire into his palm. The flames danced blue._

"_Sky…"_

_He tore his gaze from the merrily dancing flames in his hand to the bed. A woman was there, rising slowly. Her blonde hair was tousled, but still curled of its own accord. The white sheet was tucked under her arms, but he didn't need to be told that the sheet was her only clothing. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite recall her name. It was elusive, like reaching just beyond a veil._

_Closing his palm, he passed the fire back to the candle before moving to her side of the bed. A contented smile flitted across her face. He wanted to remember who she was, what they had done in this bed before he got up, but nothing came._

"_Sky," she whispered, her voice sultry and appealing._

_That was his name, he knew it. Who was she?_

"_Sky," she said again, the sheet beginning to fall from her chest._

"Sky!"

Schuyler Tate jerked awake, sitting straight up in bed and nearly smashing his head against that of his roommate's. Bridge, for his part, looked a little confused at Sky's less than graceful waking. He blinked, quickly trying to orient himself. Sunlight was pouring through their window and his alarm clock was beeping insistently in the background. Bridge was still dressed in his nightclothes, which meant that neither of them was late—yet. Reaching out, he shut off the alarm clock. He quickly ascertained that he was wearing the blue SPD t-shirt and gray sweatpants he had gone to bed in. Why, then, did he feel like he should have been wearing some sort of robe and loose pants?

The dream came back in a burst—the room, the woman in the bed, the fact that he had literally picked up fire and it turned blue the moment he touched it… What did that mean? He glanced to Bridge and found the Green Ranger still staring at him intently. Bridge had been his roommate for a long time and knew when and when not to press an issue.

"What?" he asked a little sharply, wanting to know why Bridge was still standing there, staring at him. Now that he was fully awake, he felt a little irritated and a little more disappointed that the dream was gone.

"You didn't wake up to your alarm," Bridge said simply. "You just stayed asleep like a foot." Sky fought the urge to roll his eyes at being compared to a foot. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," he replied, pushing away his blankets and sitting up, swinging his legs to the side of his bed.

"Must have been an intense dream," Bridge muttered as he went to his own side of the room, picking up his uniform jacket.

"How did you know I was dreaming?"

"REM—rapid eye movement. That's the stage of sleep you dream during. You were still in the middle of REM."

"Oh." He had been expecting some complicated psychic explanation that would eventually hinge on Bridge's powers. The textbook simplicity surprised him.

For Bridge, the conversation was over. The Green Ranger finished gathering the pieces of his uniform and his shower things and left the room. Sky let out a long breath. He wasn't sure what that dream meant—nothing had happened in it. Except that he had literally picked up a flame and it expanded once it hit his hand… he had also been extremely aware of the air and the water in the air. Elements… and then there was the woman in the bed. He still could not place her—all he knew was that her blonde hair and petite frame were familiar.

He glanced at the clock and knew he needed to go shower now, if he hoped to have a shower before going on patrol that morning. His uniform was folded on his desk chair, where he had left it last night. He gathered his uniform, towel and shower items, heading down the hall towards the showers. Most people were already done using the room or they were waiting until after morning training sessions.

Sky moved into an open stall, quickly stripping out of his pajamas and adjusting the warm spray. What did that dream mean, if anything?

* * *

_He was in the room again. This time night had fallen. Crickets gently chirped outside, setting a soothing nighttime rhythm. He had never been one for staying up late, but there was something about this night, an intoxicating drug that he wanted to explore. The doors to the balcony were still open and the curtains fluttered in the breeze. Candles were set all over the room, bathing the space in a golden glow. The bed was made, but the sheets were drawn tantalizingly open. What was going on? What was this place?_

_Clothing was his next inspection. He was not wearing the soft robe and pants from before. Instead, he was wearing a uniform of sorts. It was made of leather and felt constricting next to his SPD uniform. The leather was black with red trim—Red Ranger red. He felt a pang shoot through his heart. He had come to grips with being the Blue Ranger a long time, but seeing himself wearing the color he could never have made it painful again._

_Moving on instinct, he went to the nearest candle. The fire intrigued him, more so than fire ever had before. The sensations here puzzled him. So many times he should have been burned, injured from handling the flames, but he wasn't. All he felt went he touched the fire was a gentle tickling or a pleasant warmth, not unlike being in a warm bath. He ran one finger through the flame, studying it intently. What did his sudden affinity for fire mean?_

_A long, heart-wrenching howl tore through the peaceful night._

_Panic stabbed at his stomach as he hurried out to the balcony. He had been on the balcony before, but he hadn't taken in the ground below. The view was that of a large field—a practice field it appeared—with red, yellow and blue banners sporting the same symbol on it. The entire field was bathed in silver moonlight._

_Standing in the center of the practice field was a lone wolf. In the silver light, its gray fur seemed to have a blue tinge. Once more, it raised its head and howled._

I am with you_, the wolf seemed to say. _The one I used to serve is coming. He sings to the moonlight now

"_With me?" he murmured._

With you—quell the fire, Wolf.

"_What fire?"_

The fire twenty years past.

"_What?"_

_But the wolf had gone. He watched the spot on the practice field where he had been for a few moments. Quell the fire—the fire twenty years past? It didn't make sense. He could not time travel, nor did he know anyone who could. What was he supposed to do when he got to the past? It was simple. There was nothing he could do._

"_Sky…"_

_He turned back into the room. The vague outline of the woman from before could be seen behind the sheer white curtains around the bed. She didn't appear to be clad in much, if anything at all. He stepped off the balcony and into the room. Automatically, his hands went to the zipper on his uniform jacket, tugging it down and shrugging out of the top. He wasn't wearing a t-shirt underneath it, like he might with his SPD uniform. The night air teased his skin in a caress that was all the more sensual than a human touch._

_There was a chair near the balcony door. He took advantage of it to slide his footwear off. Standing, he realized that the uniform had a loincloth that went over the pants. He could not fathom what this was a uniform for—all he knew was that whatever the classification of red meant, he was a part of that group._

"_In ancient times, red belonged to the fire ninjas."_

_The voice seemed to coming from the woman in the chamber with him, but it did not seem like the voice belonged to her. This was not the voice she had in the morning—in his dream where it had been morning._

"_Are you a fire ninja, Wolf?"_

"_I don't know."_

_The woman came into view and his jaw dropped open. Her name burst into his memory. It was Syd, except she was wearing a filmy nightgown. It skimmed the tops of her thighs and showed ample cleavage. His mouth watered. This had been his fantasy for a long time, but, in this dream, it didn't seem right. He hadn't even worked up the nerve to ask her on a date yet, let alone expect to see her scantily clad in a bedroom with him._

"_Sky," she said with a smile. Her voice sounded normal._

"_Syd," he breathed, closing the space between them. She met his advance, stopping him with a hand placed lightly on his chest. He was all too aware of her warm palm on his bare chest. His body felt flushed—nothing made sense._

"_We can't be together now," she whispered. "But soon, when you get back."_

"_When I get back from what?"_

"_You'll find out soon."_

"_I don't understand. This doesn't make sense."_

"_Goodbye, Sky."_

"_Syd, wait!"_

_But she was gone like a wisp of smoke. He reached out, drawing the flame of the nearest candle to him. Immediately, it curled into a ball in his palm, turning blue, the color of the hottest flames._

With a muffled shout, he pulled himself into awareness. The room was still dark. He glanced at his alarm clock—it read 3:27 in glaring red letters. This was the second vivid dream he had that involved that room and all that fire. Something was wrong. The wolf had told him that he had to quell a fire twenty years past? Did that mean he had to get to the past?

"It's not time to get up, Sky," Bridge muttered in his sleep.

Sky ignored Bridge's mutterings. They had sent the Dino Rangers back to their time earlier today—or yesterday afternoon. Kat had used a machine similar to what Professor Cerebros had used to bring them here. The machine had been powered by their dino-gems and sent them back to 2005, twenty years in the past. What if he could get that machine and power it up something—his morpher?—and get _twenty years past_. Despite the promise that the plan showed, he couldn't help but feel he was already too late.

This was ridiculous!

He sat up in bed, reaching over to turn on his lamp. Bridge groaned at that and buried his head under his pillow, muttering darkly and threatening to injure Sky. He had two dreams about this place, that room, two dreams that involved him handling fire… and now he was raring to break into the lab and program the time machine to take him twenty years in the past. He didn't know who he was supposed to contact or even where he needed to go. Someone needed him—he didn't know who, but the longer he sat in bed, the longer he felt like any efforts on his part would be in vain.

"Turn off the light!" Bridge wailed.

Coming to a decision, Sky stood up and strode to Bridge, shaking his shoulder. "Get up," he said impatiently. "We need to look something up."

Bridge blinked. "What has gotten into you?" he groaned.

"I need your help."

"With what?" Bridge near-growled. He made an effort to sit up, but collapsed back onto his pillow, covering his face with his arm. "Go away."

Sky gave his shoulder another shake for good measure—to be sure that he wasn't going to fall back asleep—and rummaged around on his desk for paper and a pen. Clicking the pen into life, he quickly sketched the symbol that had been on the banners in the practice field. Now that he thought about it, he had seen that symbol before—he just couldn't remember where. Bridge was awake now, but looked highly disgruntled that he was in that state. Sky knew that Bridge sometimes—hell, all the time—had trouble getting to sleep and didn't appreciate being jolted from sleep once he had been able to find it.

"This," he said, thrusting the piece of paper at Bridge.

Bridge took it, raising one hand to rub his eye. "That's the symbol for the Wind Ninja Academy," he replied, shoving the paper back at Sky and pulling the blankets over his head.

"Wind Ninja Academy?"

"Yeah," his roommate responded, his voice muffled from his blankets. "Their school location and actual enrollment is secret, but they sometimes come out here and do martial arts demos and training sessions and stuff."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Can I go back to sleep?"

"Where is the academy?"

"It's in a secret location. But…" Bridge sat up, as if finally realizing that there was no way he was getting back to sleep. "Most of the teachers who have come out here live and work in Blue Bay Harbor. Leads me to believe it's in that area."

"Where is it?"

"South of here, near the ocean—why do you care?"

"I need to get there. Well, there twenty years ago."

Bridge blinked. "Who hid drugs in your dinner?"

"Bridge, please. I've been having dreams about the place and I need to get there twenty years ago." The Green Ranger still looked doubtful and uncomprehending. "You of all people should trust me on this." God, he needed Bridge to help him, to believe him…

"You are suggesting we take Kat's time machine—God only knows how we'll power it—and go to Blue Bay Harbor, send you back in time twenty years without knowing how you'll get back. Not to mention taking an SPD vehicle when we're not on duty."

"Yes!"

"Okay… Let me put this in terms you'll understand. I will most definitely be thrown out of the academy, if not thrown in jail. If you manage to get back here safely, you will subsequently be thrown out or in jail…" Bridge trailed off. His blue eyes met Sky's and, in that moment, he knew that Bridge believed him, would help him.

"I know," he said softly. "But I can try to get back the moment I left—hopefully we can get the time machine and the jeep back before anyone notices." He paused and gave Bridge a pleading look. It was so odd for their roles to be reversed like this. Ordinarily, he was the one that would be listening to Bridge plead to do something stupid. "Please, Bridge."

"What are we waiting for?"

"You're serious?"

"Yes. You're my friend… and I've never seen you acting this out of it." He paused and a wry smile broke out on his face. "Besides, if you tried to operate the machine yourself, you'd end up somewhere wacky on the timeline."

"True…"

For the first time in the tenure of their friendship, Bridge took charge. Sky had been ready to go commandeer things in his pajamas, but Bridge pointed out how impractical that would be. Clothing styles hadn't changed too much in the past twenty years, so Sky got dressed in civilian clothes and packed a small backpack with a few essentials—a change of clothes, pajamas, a few toiletries. His long-time friend also told him to get some food and water from the food replicator as there was no telling how long he would go without finding whatever it was he needed to find. Besides, he had no money that would work twenty years in the past.

Bridge also got dressed—in his uniform, since someone had to be in uniform if they were taking the jeep—and headed down the hall to the lab. Sky found an old road map in the glove compartment of the jeep and was studying it, trying to figure out the best way to get to Blue Bay Harbor.

"Sky!"

He turned to see Bridge jogging out to the parking garage. He was empty-handed. "Where's the time machine?"

"We can access it from the command center. We can also program destination coordinates—including geographical region."

"All right."

They went back into the building. It was quiet and eerie this time of night. Even the night crew had gone. The major alerts would wake Kat and she, in turn, would wake them, but no one was in the command center. With just them in the large room that was normally bustling with life, it made it creepy. He shuddered, watching as Bridge frowned in concentration, pulling up the various programs he needed.

"Power source?" Bridge asked, looking at him.

Sky held up his morpher and tossed it to Bridge. The Green Ranger nodded, placing the morpher in the power cell chamber. He began bringing up controls. Soon enough, the machine was ready to go—all Bridge needed to do was initiate the process.

"Are you sure about this?" Bridge asked.

He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for helping me," he said softly. "And if I don't come back from this—"

"Sky!"

"I'm serious! Tell my mom a-and Syd that I love them."

Bridge didn't question anything, just nodded gravely. "I will."

He nodded and Bridge let out a long breath. He tapped a few controls and then, with an unsure glance, Sky felt himself enveloped in white light. The sensation was not entirely unpleasant, much like being swung around on a ride at an amusement park. He closed his eyes and felt his feet hit the ground hard.

The command center, Bridge, Newtech City had faded away. Instead, he was on a beach in the middle of the night and he was alone. On a ridge ahead, he could hear passing cars. He climbed up the beach to see a large sign. _Welcome to Blue Bay Harbor._

_To be continued..._


	2. Out of Time II

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Two: Out of Time II**

_He was running through the woods—which puzzled him. He didn't ordinarily have affection for trees or nature or anything earthy. He preferred being indoors, being with technology to hiking and camping any day. This was not some kind of VR computer game—the trees were too real and he could smell the damp scent of the earth, like moist soil. He had yet to be around any game that provided something for the olfactory sense._

_He slowed and came to a halt in the thick woods. Something was covering his mouth and head. Reaching up, he removed some kind of hood and mask that covered his nose and mouth. With that gone, he could freely breathe in the scent of the earth, not sure why that damp smell felt so right and almost sensual. Never before had he spent enough time with nature to realize that this was intoxicating. He could feel the earth; feel its vibrancy and life. This was an amazing feeling… what was going on?_

_Looking down, he realized he was wearing a uniform, a ninja uniform. It was the uniform that Shane, Tori and Dustin's students had worn—a wind ninja uniform. The only thing that puzzled him was the green trim. The students had worn red, blue or yellow—no green. Their sixth ranger wore green, but he was a samurai. This uniform definitely indicated that he was a wind ninja. Perhaps he was a super special kind that hadn't been seen in millennia._

_That thought made him grin. This was cool! He could probably ninja streak too._

_Without thinking, he squatted down, picking up a handful of dirt. It was damp—mist still hung over the woods, indicating it was early morning. The golden sun was just peering through the tree tops and burning off the dew. The dirt was black, damp, but seemed healthier and more alive than something dusty. He rolled the dark particles around in his palm, drawing strength from the life that flooded through it. This didn't make sense, but felt right. Slowly, he let the dirt fall in a stream from his palm to the ground._

_Near where he knelt, there was a patch of wildflowers. He gazed at them. He didn't know what kind of flower it was, but it was a brilliant blue. He had never seen anything like them before and wasn't sure that they existed in real nature. Brushing one finger against the soft petal, he felt the life from it more acutely than from the soil. It was living, breathing… almost like it had a soul._

"_Ethan!" a male voice called._

_Looking up, he turned and stood. The voice sounded extremely familiar, but he could not place where he had heard it before._

"_Ethan!" a female voice joined the male._

_He felt like he should have recognized them and their voices, but no names or faces were coming to join the vocalization._

_A breeze blew, ruffling the blue flowers._

_He lifted his face to the sun, feeling the wind caress his skin. It was still damp in the early morning, but instead of being muggy or uncomfortable, it was pleasant, light and refreshing. He closed his eyes, allowing the unspoken song to sing through him. That was what the breeze was doing—singing and the earth was joining._

"_Ethan…"_

_Two figures came through the trees towards him. One was a taller man and his companion was a petite female. Both looked familiar, but he didn't know where. And Ethan, that was his name, who he was…_

_Neither said anything, but he knew they were friends. An intense friendship—a bond—was in their expressions. They were not clad in a ninja uniform as he was, but in civilian clothes, like they were his friends but couldn't join him._

_An irritating beeping penetrated the stillness of the morning…_

Ethan James growled and hit the snooze button of his alarm clock, keeping his eyes squeezed shut. He didn't want to relinquish the dream just yet. It hadn't been an over-interesting dream, but he had felt stress-free and at peace. And he had been a ninja. That, in and of itself, was cool. He remembered meeting the Ninja Rangers clearly and had been in awe of their powers that came just from being a ninja—ninja streak, elemental powers… He knew that he would never be a ninja, but that dream had been cool.

Eurgh—Monday morning… He had physics at eight. Fortunately for him, Tori was in that class and they could compare notes, pass notes, text message each other… He had taken several advanced AP classes in high school, but, upon entering college, found out he still had to pay in order to receive the credit hours. That was not in the financial aide package, so he was suffering through the freshman level science classes.

Tori Hanson—the Blue Wind Ranger—had enrolled at Reefside Tech the same time he had. She took a year off after high school to focus on her ninja training and skills, so she was in many of the same freshman classes as he. Reefside Tech was slowly integrating the arts and social sciences in an effort to become a more rounded school and get more grants. Tori was in the humanities department as an English major. However, freshman all had to take core classes like a science, history, writing seminars and math. Between having classes together and tutoring each other in their weak areas, they had become friends. That meant he dragged her to gaming nights at Hayley's and she made him go surfing with her. It could be worse.

Groaning, he glanced at the clock. Time to get up and meet Tori in the cafeteria for breakfast. He quickly gathered his things and went down the hall to shower. If there was one thing he wished about the dorms at Reefside Tech, it was that they offered private or semi-private bathrooms. But, alas, group bathrooms in all the dorms were the norm. At this hour of the morning, the bathrooms were deserted.

He quickly did the shower thing, dressed and gathered his things for class before leaving the dorm and heading for the cafeteria. Reefside Tech had an old-fashioned dorm policy even though the school was not that old. The dorms were divided by gender and—with the exception of move-in days—the opposite gender could not be in the dorm. The lobbies were public social areas, but the rooms?

The cafeteria was as empty as the showers had been. He swiped his meal card and went though the line. Tori was waiting at their normal table in the corner.

"Hey!" she said with a grin. She was definitely a morning person.

"Hey," he echoed. "Ready for physics?"

"Always!" she replied with mock sincerity. "Are you all right? You look a little wiped."

"I just had a weird dream last night."

Tori looked interested at the mention of a dream. Ethan supposed that was part of her ninja training, to be attuned to dreams and the supernatural as it were. "What about?"

"I was in the woods—I think I was a ninja."

She grinned at that. "What kind?"

"I'm not sure—my uniform was green."

"You must have been a samurai then."

"I don't think so…" he trailed off. "We still on for Hayley's tomorrow night?" he asked, effectively changing the subject from his odd dream.

"Yeah," she scoffed. "I want to get beaten by every kid in that place!"

"Not _everyone_ beat you."

"It might as well have been everyone."

The friendly banter continued until they got to physics. The professor was an older man and that silenced any chatter. Ethan took his usual copious notes, most of the time ten steps ahead of what the professor was saying. He was able to zone out once he got far enough ahead in his notes.

He felt like the dream should have been significant, but couldn't pin down why.

* * *

_Night had fallen some time ago—the forest was bathed in silver moonlight. He was running again, but stopped, just as he had during the day. The nighttime sounds were soothing—crickets, frogs and an occasional howl from a wolf. The night, in and of itself, did not bother him. He was a night owl by trade. Most gamers and geeks preferred the night to the day. However, he was a little bothered than he was in the middle of the woods. This was way too similar to a horror movie for his comfort. His heart beat uncomfortably in his chest as he expected an ax murderer to pop out at any moment._

_Taking in a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. He was in a different part of the forest from previously, but he felt like he knew it intimately. Perhaps not consciously know it, like he knew his hometown, but like subconsciously. He felt like the earth and the plants would lead him in whatever direction he needed to go. In the respect that he felt connected with the plant life, the woods would lead him where he needed to go. On instinct, he bent down and picked up another handful of dirt. It was cold as the night was cold, but that lack of warmth spoke to sleep and hibernation instead of winter._

_Straightening, he noticed he was wearing the ninja uniform again, but noticeably without the mask and hood. This uniform was just like a male wind training uniform, but the trim was still green. He could barely make that out in the silver night. Around him, the earth slept and those gentle, not-quite audible snores soothed his racing heart. Nothing was going to hurt him out here. He knew that. The earth was his protector._

_A terrible growl penetrated the stillness._

_Visibly jumping, he turned, trying to figure out the direction and cause of the noise. Had it been his imagination, or had that growl been friendly and in a greeting, rather than angry or scared? He didn't know and didn't know if he wanted to remain around long enough to find out. Something like that was not to be trifled with._

_However, he didn't need to find out. A huge, lumbering shape moved through the trees towards him. He had seen just enough movies about camping gone wrong to realize that this was a bear. It was the strangest looking bear he had ever seen. The fur was brown, like most grizzly bears, but had a blue tint. As it moved in the moonlight, that blue became visible. The bear stopped a few feet from him and fell into what distinctly was a bow._

Earth ninja_, the bear said without using actual words. _I am at your service

"_You're at my service?"_

Correct_. The bear paused. _The fire ninja—the Wolf—is coming

"_Who?"_

You will know soon. Your fate and his are intricately bound.

_With another powerful growl, the bear disappeared. He frowned. He was supposed to join forces with a fire ninja? He hadn't known that fire was an element the ninjas used. This did not make much sense, at least not much logical sense, not the sense he wanted it to make._

"_Ethan…"_

_He let out a long breath. This voice was not of the two people he had seen earlier. It came from someone else, someone female and with power at her disposal. Her presence was disembodied and all over the forest._

"_Green did belong to the earth ninjas, long ago," she explained. It bothered him that he could hear her, but not see her. She did not have a tangible form._

_That explained the green on his uniform. He should have paired those two together earlier, the communication with those flowers, the dirt… it all made sense. It was something that Dustin did on instinct and it appeared he shared that instinct. Green had belonged to earth—what had happened to change the color designations?_

"_Can you master the earth elements, Bear?"_

"_Earth elements?"_

_But the presence faded and vanished._

_Almost as soon as that presence faded, he could see the two figures moving towards him once more. With a burst of recognition, their names came to his mind. Conner and Kira, the two he had fought alongside, the two his considered his best friends, the two that had been with him through everything…_

"_Good luck," Conner said as they stopped close to him._

"_Good luck with what?"_

"_With what lies ahead," Kira supplied. "We can't follow you or help you, but we're always here for you, we're always your friends."_

"_Remember," Conner picked up. "We're partners in crime-fighting."_

"_I know."_

_Just as the bear had faded, they faded, gone into the night. A sense of peace and comfort fell over him. They were his friends and that meant everything. He did not know what was happening, what was to come, but knowing that their friendship and love was steady and never failing made it all seem insignificant, smaller._

_A hand on his shoulder caused him to jump, throwing the hand off and leaping into the closest thing he knew to a defensive stance. The person he found caused him to immediately drop the stance and his mind to pause. He was a tall guy, wearing a red ninja uniform. That ordinarily would have meant he was an air ninja, but he thought that was wrong. Something told him this was the fire ninja the bear spoke of._

"_Sky," he said, the name coming without memory._

"_Ethan," was the reply._

"_What's going on?"_

"_I wish I knew."_

* * *

"Tori, you don't have a stalker!" Ethan said for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. Who knew, perhaps it was the hundredth time? It was a gaming night at Hayley's and, while the establishment was not overly crowded, there were enough people to attest to its popularity, despite the school night factor. Tori was convinced she had a stalker—had been convinced since this time yesterday when they were down on the beach.

"Yes I do!" she retorted. "See that guy?" She pointed to a guy sitting in a corner. His eyes were fixed on the laptop screen and, because of the dim lighting, it was hard to make out his facial features.

"He's just a guy using a computer," Ethan replied.

"He's been following me." Tori sounded grumpy.

Ethan inwardly sighed, but figured he needed to assuage Tori's fears. "Look, Reefside isn't that big. Maybe he's just been the same places as you lately." He paused. "You know that all the surfers and gamers go to the same place."

"Yeah, but we're the only ones that crossover."

"Maybe he's a transfer."

"In the middle of the semester?"

"Okay, so he's not a transfer! What are you worried about? You could hand his butt to him if it came down to a fist fight."

Tori seemed to have temporarily forgotten that she was a ninja. That statement made her pause and then nod approvingly. Heck, Ethan knew that Tori would kick his butt in a fight, which is why he tried not to provoke her. She was not a person to be trifled with and, if this mystery guy was a stalker and had nefarious intent, he had another thing coming.

"What game are we playing?" Tori asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Fists of Fire III," he replied. "It's a ninja game. You should be good at it."

"I'm normally coordinated, but I can't coordinate my fingers for that."

For a few minutes, peace reigned at their table. Tori was trying to get caught up with her reading for English. Ethan had already finished his homework and was trying to get past the first few levels of the game. This was a new one and was proving to be more difficult than its predecessors. After a while, he began to feel dry-mouthed.

"I'm going to get a smoothie," he said, standing up. "Want something?"

"Nah," Tori replied.

He moved through the tables of people to the bar. Trent had gone to LA for art college and Hayley had hired a new high school student to take his place. Ethan didn't know the guy too well, so he just ordered his smoothie and waited for it. He did not understand Tori's preoccupation with this supposed stalker. The café was running as usual. Most people socialized with their group of friends or not at all, being too engrossed in a video game or homework. Granted, this place made a good social network, but it catered to people that tended to spend a lot of time alone, staring at a computer screen.

Well, he decided. He had not been spending quite so much time on his computer since he and Tori started hanging out. Conner was in LA, working on his soccer camps. Kira had gone to New York. Consequently, neither was around much and Ethan did not get dragged to soccer practice where Conner would proceed to trounce him each time. Instead, he got dragged to the beach where he attempted to surf. Those attempts were rather tragic and he had to admit that he just was not athletically inclined. He wasn't sure what brought him and Tori together as friends, but he suspected it had a lot to do with their shared ranger past.

His smoothie arrived and he made his way back to their table.

"Ethan," Tori hissed. "That guy is staring at you, not me!"

"What?"

On instinct he whirled around to where the 'stalker' was. The guy still appeared to be engrossed in whatever he was doing on his laptop. Ethan turned back to Tori.

"What makes you say that?"

"He followed you to the bar."

"What?"

"Well, he watched you get to the bar."

"What? Tori, this doesn't make sense."

"He's following you!"

"That is creepy." He shuddered. "Can we talk about something else?"

However, that made him think of his last dream. He had met a guy at the end of that dream, someone he was supposed to find, work with. On what, neither of them knew, but they were being intrinsically bound together. There was some bigger force manipulating things here and he didn't like to think too hard about that. Too much like Big Brother… He craned his neck, trying to get a good glimpse of the guy. There were too many people and too little light to determine if he was the one in the dream.

Earth ninja joining forces with a fire ninja… but why, then, did he feel like he was already too late? Things had been delayed just long enough that the events were set in motion and no one could stop them. Were there more people involved with this?

"Tori," he asked abruptly. "Do you guys study dreams?" There was just enough emphasis on the word 'guys' that she got the point. He was asking about ninjas and their training, what they were told to pick up on.

"Well, Sensei always told us to pay attention to our dreams. They can reveal a lot if you're focused on them."

"Huh," he replied, sitting back in his chair.

"Why? Have you been having weird dreams?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Did you have another dream that you were a ninja?"

He had temporarily forgotten that he had told her about his first dream. Ethan nodded slowly. "But there's more to it. I could almost hear the earth, feel the life there. And then a bear came and told me that he was with me and… it doesn't make sense."

"Sounds like you were an earth ninja."

"I think I was."

"The bear is an animal spirit," Tori said thoughtfully. "Or at least one of the animal spirits that we learn about. It tends to be associated with earth." She paused. "I'll talk to Sensei later this week and see what he thinks."

Ethan nodded, grateful that the subject had wandered back into the mundane realm of school work, part-time jobs and other such things.

Later, when the high school kid was shooing people out so he could close, Ethan got a good glimpse of the guy as he stood to leave. He was tall with sandy blonde hair, wearing a backpack that appeared to be packed pretty full. Ethan frowned. He seemed entirely too familiar for this to be a coincidence. In the better light, he realized that he had seen the guy in the moonlight during his dream. There was no telling what he really looked like.

Tori dragged him out the door and he gave the guy one last, fleeting look.

Sky?

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the amazing feedback so far, y'all! I was a huge fan of doing reviewer responses at the end of every chapter, but now that that is outlawed... it leaves me in something of a bind. If anyone wants to get in contact with me, please PM me and I'll definitely get back to you. Responses to reviews will be sporadic. With that said, thanks again! 


	3. Out of Time III

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Three: Out of Time III**

_She was standing beside the waterfall at the Wind Ninja Academy. Beyond the waterfall, she knew, was the portal that led to the school grounds. However, she remained beside the water, letting the rhythm move through her, soothing her shot nerves and acting as a healing balm. Sensei had always said that one's element could be used to destroy, but also to heal. She was far from becoming a healer, but she could calm herself and her own mind. During midterm exams, that had made the difference between sanity and madness._

_The sun peeked over the trees, casting a golden glow on the earth below. A fine mist hovered over the ground, waiting to be evaporated by the light and heat. The waterfall rushed into the lake below and the water rippled. She closed her eyes, letting her element move through her. Wind ninjas sang to a certain element and, when in tune with that element, could draw power from being around it. Her love of surfing and the ocean made sense the moment she enrolled and was declared as water. Instinctively, she had been drawn to the water._

_She knelt beside the lake, hearing the creak of leather. One hand went to her abdomen as she glanced down. Her ninja uniform, and not the one she had worn as a teacher, but the one she had worn as a student. The leather smelt new and the blue was as bright as the day she had been given the uniform. It had been a long time since she donned her uniform. She was still a wind ninja—would be until she died—and would always be welcome at the academy, but she had been busy with school and work._

_Cupping her hands, she drew a small amount of the clear, sparking liquid towards herself. It pooled in her hands, not dripping, like the water would have with a normal person. The water sang to her as she sang to the water. Like sings to like… Those had been Sensei's constant words throughout her early training._

_But what was she doing here?_

_She had not come here since the beginning of the semester, right before she had to leave for Reefside—she had come to say goodbye and make plans to visit over Christmas break. Why would she be here now, without a purpose? Yes, Blue Bay Harbor was not far from Reefside—a weekend trip—but had she come here to be with the water? She could go to the beach or any numbers of lakes, creeks and fountains in Reefside. Water remained water, no matter where it was or what it did._

_The water was so deep that, instead of appearing clear, it appeared blue._

"_Tori!"_

_She raised her head, listening for the voice. It was familiar, but the name and face that went with it would not appear. She frowned. The owner of the voice was not a stranger, but she did not want to face the unknown._

"_Tori!" The voice called again, this time a little more insistent and worried._

_A breeze blew, cool and damp. She smiled. This was the perfect kind of breeze—refreshing but without the added burden of humidity. She stood up, feeling that light wind on her face, feeling the water and air intertwine to create harmony, beauty. Stronger as one… another one of Sensei's lessons. While each element was strong and unique in and of itself, the elements had to work together to create harmony and keep peace—keeping evil at bay._

"_Tori."_

_The voice was soft and near. She turned away from the water, watching the figure walk slowly into the clearing around the lake. He was slightly shorter than her, but not so much that she dwarfed him. He was a smaller guy, but wearing the uniform of the Thunder Ninja Academy. He meant something to her—he was someone special._

_She wished she could remember who._

* * *

"Sensei, it just doesn't make sense. Ethan's been having weird dreams about being a ninja and now I start having them and I've got a guy following me." She paused and shook her head. "I know I'm supposed to pay attention to my dreams, but I can't figure this out." 

The Wind Ninja Academy was quiet on a weekday afternoon. Tori was glad that she had decided to ninja streak and get here quickly. Sensei had been meditating, but welcomed her interruption. So far, she had not seen the others—Shane, Dustin or Cam. The three were around somewhere, but she wanted to reveal the dreams without their inquiries. Well, Cam was the most perceptive and knew when things were related to something bigger or when paranoia had decided to strike.

Sensei looked thoughtful as they strolled down the path. "What does your heart tell you?" he asked simply.

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

"You say that Ethan also had dreams. What were his?"

"He was a ninja—in the woods somewhere—but his uniform was green." Tori wracked her memory, trying to recall the details Ethan had told her. "A bear talked to him and told him that the fire ninja—the wolf—was coming. He also saw Kira and Conner."

"The bear is an ancient spirit of the earth, as is the wolf." Sensei paused, sitting down on a bench in the garden and motioning her next to him. "Ninja history is long and much of it is fraught with strife."

"I know that," Tori said. She had attended to her ninja history studies.

"Do you know why we stopped training fire ninjas?"

"I didn't know there ever were fire ninjas."

"Fire ninjas are strong—but few and far between. However, their allegiance is not to the forces of Light or Darkness—their allegiance is to the Shadow. They are a balance point between light and dark, but they are bound to the codes in their own hearts." He let out a long breath. "Their honor is a personal honor and many left the ninja ways, listening to their hearts."

"Shouldn't everyone have a code in their heart?"

"Yes, but the codes change and grow. Fire ninjas, once realizing their code, remained fiercely loyal to it and did not change it. Most, not all, left." He paused. "Now fire ninjas are not trained or they band together in small groups—rogues, almost. Long before most ninjas remember, the colors were changed."

"What were they before?"

"Fire wore red, Earth had green, Blue belonged to water and Air donned yellow."

"So water never changed colors?"

"No. That is what makes water ninjas so solid and unshakable. Their loyalty and steadfastness is to be commended."

"But what does all this mean?"

"Tori, you said earlier that Ethan had two dreams, each different?"

"Yes."

"And you have only had one. I would suggest you welcome that dream and pay close attention to it. It could well tell you everything you need to know."

Tori stood up, smiling faintly. "Thank you, Sensei."

"You are a wind ninja—you and those you name friends are always welcome here."

"I know, Sensei."

* * *

_She was back by the lake, but it was dark. Shivering, she tried to draw comfort from the nearness of the water. Never before had she been here after dark. The one time she had, she had been with Shane and Dustin. Their ninja training had taken place during the day, so that they could get back to the road and home safely before their parents started to wonder where they had been. Sensei had learned the fine arts of running a secret ninja academy with teen students long ago. However, this bothered her. Something was not right._

_Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on the running water. The rhythmic night noises were soothing, as was the water. She let it run through her as she calmed her racing pulse and pounding heart. The leather of her uniform creaked like it had when it had been new. In the faint, silver moonlight, she could make out the blue trim. Sensei had said that water ninjas were the only ones to not change colors. That simple and seemingly insignificant fact was the basis for their strength, fluidity and loyalty._

_Sitting down on the shore of the lake, she took off her shoes and socks, letting her feet rest in the water. There, she sang to the water and the depths became a protective embrace. If she felt threatened, she could retreat into the lake and nothing could harm her. That was something that forces of darkness knew—an elemental ninja needed to be taken from his or her element in order for destruction. Wind ninjas knew to always be near their element, in case someone tried to use it against them._

_Something peered from underneath the water, just a head poking up, observing and retreating. Tori smiled. There were fish in this lake, but she had not run into any other creatures, though she presumed there were more. The small blue-green head came up once more, before the turtle hauled himself through the waters to the shore. He was a little guy and in the moonlight he appeared blue-green, more blue than green. She watched him—she hadn't known that there had been turtles in the lake._

_The turtle was not evil—on the contrary, she got the feeling that he was her friend, her protector in a strange sense. He lumbered to her and settled by her side._

Water ninja_, the turtle said in greeting, although he didn't articulate words._

"_Turtle," she replied._

No, you're the Turtle. I am just your protector.

"_What?"_

You'll find out soon. The Wolf has arrived. The Bear is with you.

"_The Wolf and the Bear?"_

The fire ninja and the earth ninja. Air and moonlight will not come for some time.

"_Moonlight?"_

The fifth element of the Faerie.

"_Are you of the Faerie?"_

I am of the earth. Goodbye, Turtle, and good luck.

_With that, the turtle heaved himself to his feet and lumbered back to the lake. He disappeared into the navy blue depths with a splash. Tori could have sworn that the splash was his form of a wave. The breeze picked up, blowing sharply. Tori shivered. Something foreign filled the night air. The presence was not harmful or dark—it was light, helpful. She wished that it would take a form._

"_You will see my form soon enough. You are a water ninja, Turtle. You have mastered those elements. Help the others master theirs."_

"_The Wolf and the Bear?"_

"_Yes…"_

_Like a whisper on the breeze, she was gone._

_Something rustled beyond the shore. She stood, standing the shallow water, keeping her element connected to her. The man, from before, moved out of the trees and towards her. She frowned and then smiled as his name came to her. Blake, he was Blake. But what was he doing here? He was supposed to be on tour with Factory Blue. Besides, they hadn't even decided if they were actually dating yet, a key reason she never referred to him as her boyfriend._

"_We'll talk when your task is over," he said softly._

"_What?"_

"_I care about you, always remember that."_

"_Blake!"_

_But he had retreated into the woods and she did not want to leave the water, not with the strange forces gathered here tonight. Blake was gone, but two more figures began to move into sight. Ethan was one of them, wearing a green uniform, identical to the ones that Shane and Dustin had worn. There was another guy with him, wearing a student air uniform—but he was not air, he was fire. Her stalker… Sky… his name came to her, even though she knew she did not know his name._

"_Tori," Ethan said, taking a step forward._

_Without thinking, she turned and dived into the water. Ordinarily, she could filter oxygen from the water so she could breath, but the further down she went, the more the water filled her lungs instead. She could not breath, her lungs burning. Why was she drowning? Water was her element and her protector! Unity…_

_Strong hands grabbed her arms and dragged her to the surface. She coughed, sputtering and wrapped her arms around her rescuer's neck. At the last moment, she realized that it was Sky. As a fire ninja, it must have been against every instinct in his body to jump into a lake, but he did it anyways. He dragged her to the shore, collapsing next to her. He needed to be around fire to recuperate from being in the water, but she had no source of fire._

"_I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, as Ethan joined them on the shore._

"_I know that now."_

"_We all need to meet outside a dream," Ethan added._

"_Will you two remember this?"_

_Sky shook his head. "No. I've been tracking you and Ethan because something told me that you were the ones I needed to be with."_

"_I have to initiate this?"_

"_No one is going to be hard to convince—I'll know you."_

* * *

Tori buried her head in her arms, willing herself to stay awake for the last few minutes of her English roundtable seminar. It was Friday and her last class—she should have been awake and raring to go for the weekend. But the dream last night had drained her. She had woken up close to four in the morning and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. The wee hours of the morning had been spent thinking of ways to get Ethan and Sky together and how the three of them were going to figure out what was going on, what was calling them? 

"Miss Hanson, what do you think?"

She snapped to attention. "What?"

"Plant imagery in Macbeth?"

"Oh… uh… I—"

"I suggest you come to class a little more prepared," the professor snapped, calling on someone else. Tori frowned, feeling frustration. She had read the play and taken copious notes over it. The professor knew that she was studious—was she not allowed to have a day where she was distracted?

The professor ended class and she gathered her books, darting from the classroom. Ethan was getting together with some of his geek friends—Angela and her bunch. He had gone to the prom with Angela, but the pair wasn't dating, they were just good friends. He had invited her to go along with them, but she had been indecisive. Glancing at her watch, she quickly calculated the time. They would already be at the cyberspace café.

She started down the hall, but hadn't taken one step before she plowed into someone. "Sorry!" she apologized, watching her books scatter across the hall.

Then she took in who she had run into. "It's all right," he said quickly, moving to pick up the books and papers. Tori bit back a hysterical laugh. The guy was tall, built without being overly so—the dark blonde spiked hair, blue eyes… her stalker, Sky…

"Sky?" she asked.

He looked up, a smile on his face. "Yeah. Tori, right?"

She had been so intent on confronting him someplace public that she nearly couldn't comprehend that he was here, in front of her. With a slightly hysterical giggle, she sank down onto the floor. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sky had gathered all her things together and crouched on the floor next to her, looking concerned.

"Tori?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I know who you are and what you are, but I still don't really know who you are—if that makes any sense."

He nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'm Sky… Tate." He added the last name as an afterthought. "I'm not from around here."

"Where are you from?"

"The future." She laughed. "No, I'm serious," he protested. "Have you ever heard of an organization called Space Patrol Delta?"

"I think so. They're the one working on the interplanetary immigration laws."

"Yeah. I'm their Blue Ranger in 2025."

Tori shook her head. "So many weird things have been happening that I'm not even going to question that. I'm just going to believe you."

"What are we supposed to do?" Sky asked softly, his blue eyes reflecting worry and uncertainty. "Right now, I'm pretty much considered a time criminal. I can be forcibly brought back to my time and locked up."

"We're all ninjas," Tori replied. "And we all have an animal spirit and an element. I don't know what's going on—only that we all must have been called together for a purpose." She looked down, seeing the speckled tile and not seeing it. They had all been called together for a singular purpose. But none of them knew that purpose, at least, not yet.

Sky gently touched her arm. His fingertips were warm, as if his skin wanted the contact with his element, but was lacking. Tori met his gaze, startled for a moment by his eyes. They weren't a striking shade of blue—not electric, cornflower or navy. There was a liberal amount of gray, making the blue light, but piercing and intense. He didn't seem like the type of guy to carry around a lighter—from the khaki pants to the neatly tucked in shirt, she would assume he didn't have a need for a lighter, as he looked like he would never be caught smoking.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You were in Blue Bay Harbor for a weekend. I saw you at Storm Chargers. I had gotten there the night before."

"That was nearly three weeks ago!" She paused. "I only realized that you were following me about a week ago."

"I was getting tired, careless."

Tori stared at him in a renewed light. He had a pinched, slightly unhealthy look about him, like someone who had either not had much food and sleep for a long period or someone who had just gone through a growth spurt. With Sky, she was going to bet on the former. Dark circles ringed his eyes and those same, beautiful eyes were bloodshot. Although, despite all the evident exhaustion and hunger, he appeared clean, like he had bathed regularly. She wondered how he had accomplished that or if he was just used to sponge-bathing in public restrooms.

His stomach let out a mournful growl. Tori smiled, in spite of herself.

"Food's been kind of scarce," Sky said reluctantly. "I've had to ration the stuff I brought with me. Money from 2025 isn't exactly worth anything here." He paused. "Although I have discovered that the change will work in the vending machines."

"Come on," Tori said, standing up and taking her books from him. "The cafeteria on this campus is pretty good. You can use my meals—I've got a ton."

He got to his feet, slowly, as if he had been having frequent dizzy spells. Of course, Tori knew that she got dizzy when she didn't eat properly—Sky was probably experiencing something similar. He adjusted a navy blue backpack on his shoulders. Tori blinked, not having realized that he had a backpack before.

They walked to the cafeteria in silence. Tori gave Sky a sidelong glance. Something told her that he had been so intent on finding them and surviving that his actual situation hadn't really dawned on him yet. She said as much to him.

"I'll probably have an anxiety attack later tonight," he replied. His tone was serious. Tori wondered if he often panicked about things. Then again, if she was in his situation, she would have panicked a long time ago.

Getting into the cafeteria was no problem. The guy who ran the register was used to people borrowing meals from their friends or students using their meals on visiting family members. Sky ate with gusto, although she noticed all the choices were insanely healthy—must be something of a health-food nut. Tori took care of herself, but didn't obsess.

"Ethan's at the cyber café," she said. "We can catch him there."

Sky nodded. "We all need to talk."

"I just hope we're not too late."

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **More amazing feedback, I can only say THANK YOU! You guys are awesome! Stay tuned... 


	4. Out of Time IV

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Four: Out of Time IV**

He didn't like it—not one bit. He and Tori had gone to some sort of cybercafé to pick up Ethan. Internet cafes were not unheard of in his time, but he had been momentarily startled at the archaic computers and equipment. But he had kept that thought to himself, screwed a false smile on his face and explained to Ethan what he knew. And that wasn't much. He had met Ethan briefly when Broodwing transported the Dino Rangers to 2025. Not that the Blue Dino Ranger believed him. Then again, who would believe this mess?

Sky let out a long breath, trailing behind Ethan and Tori as they walked towards one of the dorms at Reefside Tech. He knew of this university—had considered applying. That was before he joined SPD, before he realized that SPD would become his life. When he had been younger, he had actually wanted to be a lawyer, a public defendant. He inwardly snorted. That dream had been right up there with president, an astronaut and, for whatever strange reason, a truck driver.

"We can't talk about this in the lounge," Tori was saying as he pulled himself from his reverie. "Someone will overhear."

"Someone could overhear right now," Ethan responded.

"I'd just feel better in someone's room."

"What?" It wasn't the brightest question and his own voice sounded scratchy and unused to his ears. Tori and Ethan stopped just outside the dorm and turned towards him.

"Girls aren't allowed upstairs in the boys' dorms," Tori explained.

"And visa versa," Ethan added.

"That's ridiculous," Sky said without thinking. Even at SPD, cadets of the opposite gender were allowed in one another's living quarters. There was the rule about being in someone's quarters by invitation, but that meant one had to knock. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulders, trying to relieve the strap that had been digging uncomfortably into his skin.

"Tell me about it," Tori said.

"Can't you just sneak up there?" Cadets ignored some of the lesser rules at SPD all the time. Sky knew for a fact that there was a rule that said cadets of one gender could not spend the night in quarters belonging to someone of the opposite gender. The C-Squad cadets, especially, seemed to think that particular rule didn't apply to them—and he hadn't had the energy to get Jack to do something about it.

"We could…" Tori replied slowly.

Ethan checked his watch. "The RAs don't do rounds for another hour. If we went up the stairs and not the elevator, chances are slim we'd run into someone."

"Besides, the other girls on my floor won't care," Tori added. "Let's go."

Thus began his unease. He didn't really mind breaking a ridiculous rule, but he wasn't sure of the consequences if they were caught. The truth was, he didn't know much of anything about college campuses, mostly because he had chosen SPD. After a certain number of years at SPD, one had the equivalent of an associate's degree. Besides, his father had worked at SPD until his death. Why couldn't he?

With a painful jolt, he realized that he might not be able to get back to SPD. He might be stuck in this time… he had failed to factor in a method to get back. The time police could show up at any moment and take him into custody. He was twenty years in the past, where he had nothing and no one. Drawing in a deep breath, he tried to steady himself as the three of them trooped up a back staircase. Instead of panicking about his situation, he concentrated on what was—or, getting up to Tori's dorm room without a RA catching them. He threw force fields over the doors they passed—temporary ones that would fade with enough distance from him. Doing that made him feel better, soothing his shot nerves.

"What are you doing?"

Sky glanced up at Ethan. He was leaning over a banister, staring at the most recent force field. "Um…" he trailed off, amazed at his inability to articulate anything.

Ethan jumped down the steps onto the landing and poked at the glowing blue shield. It rippled with his touch, but held. He pulled his finger back, shaking the digit as if he had jammed it on the force field. "That is a force field," Ethan said unnecessarily.

"Yeah…"

"You can create force fields?" Tori asked.

"Yeah," he repeated, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

"From your ranger powers?"

"Genetic mutation," he corrected. For a moment, he thought about launching into the story of the experiments at SPD, how both his parents had been involved and how those experiments altered their DNA, resulting in genetic mutations in him, but he decided against it. There was time for that story—he hoped. Unless they were already too late, like he had felt since that second dream. It was 2005… the experiments had happened in 2001… perhaps there was some sort of news coverage or… something.

"I don't have the civilian powers from my ranger powers anymore," Ethan mock-groused. "Of course, the gems lost their power and then—"

Ethan was off on a tangent that included his ranger team, comic books and where he thought the dino-gems drew their power from. Sky stared at him, until, abruptly, Ethan ended the diatribe and continued up the stairs. Tori shook her head, a bemused smile on her face. "You get used to that," she said in an undertone.

"Did you have… civilian powers?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I had—have—elemental powers from being a ninja."

"Oh."

He trailed behind them, shielding the doors as he went. If Tori was a ninja already, then perhaps she knew who they needed to get to? Dreams, alone, were not substantial enough for anyone associated with rangers on Earth, in this time.

* * *

"And then, this bear came into the clearing, but it looked weird, like, it had brown fur, but there was also some blue there and—" 

"Oh my God, Ethan, get to the point!" Tori groaned.

Ethan stopped and narrowed his eyes at her. Since when could she claim that she didn't belabor points, when he knew that was exactly what their writing professor took points off for on their last analysis? Oh well, he had already told Tori the basics of the dream and she was on IM with Cam, relating the major points, while the samurai looked up pertinent information in the Wind Ninja Academy library.

Tori's room was by far the nicest dorm room—between hers and his—to have any sort of unofficial council. The place was crowded, but cozy and homey, unlike the disaster area that he liked to call a dorm room. Doubles-as-singles came on a first come, first served basis. He had been lucky enough to get one based on an all-nighter he pulled before registering. Tori's roommate had moved out within the first few days of school and residential life hadn't bothered to give her a new roommate.

Sky was sitting in one of her folding chairs, looking a little shell-shocked. He had already related his dreams and the epic adventure of how he ended up in their time. Tori was at her desk, fingers flying over her keyboard. Ethan was hovering over her, "supervising" the computer work.

"Bear, disembodied female voice, earth, green," Ethan snapped at her, irritated that he couldn't revel in the details of his dream. "And I saw Sky at the end." Sky snorted at the mention of himself. "What? I did!"

The Wind Ranger quickly typed the abbreviated version of their dreams and sent it to Cam. Replies began to come quickly. Ethan could almost imagine the samurai looking things up on a database (because Cam wouldn't be going through scrolls—he'd have everything catalogued on a computer).

"He says the ninjas can trace the color changes back a thousand years, when the last of the fire ninjas went rouge," Tori announced. "He also says that the ninjas used to study the Faerie, but no one was trained to sing to the moonlight."

"Moonlight?"

"The fifth element of the Faerie," Tori added quickly. "We were always told they were folktales or legends…" She trailed off as more messages appeared on the screen. "Cam also says that one of the Faerie legends talks about all five elements coming together to heal the earth, when the balance goes off." She paused. "He'll pull a copy and we can read the thing in its entirety when we get there tomorrow."

"Since when are we going to go there tomorrow?" Ethan asked, wanting to know when this decision had been made. "Did she say we were going somewhere?" he appealed to Sky, wanting the other male in the room to side with him.

"Where are we going?" Sky asked mildly, seemingly disregarding both Tori's statement and Ethan's questions, but artfully hinting at both of them. He was good.

"Wind Ninja Academy," Tori answered, her eyes remaining fixed on the screen as she sifted through Cam's thoughts and findings.

"That's where they train all the ninjas, huh?" Sky responded, nodding slightly. "Sometimes the instructors come out to the SPD Academy and do demos, hold workshops and things like that."

"Really?" Ethan asked, mildly impressed.

"We don't do demos," Tori said absently.

"Twenty years from now, you do." Sky paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "You might have come out to do the demo, even." He shrugged. "I don't remember. It was in my first year there."

"Cam says we should try to have a collective dream tonight."

That effectively silenced that subject. Ethan stared at Tori. "Collective dream? I thought those didn't exist in real life."

"Ninja," she replied, tapping her temple.

"Oh yeah."

"I'm not a ninja," Sky said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe.

"You are—you just haven't been trained." There was no getting around Tori this evening. "Cam thinks we should all sleep in the same room, since none of us have attempted a collective dream before."

"Wait a second—you've never done this before?" Ethan squawked.

"How hard can it be?" Tori retorted.

"Calm down!" Sky interrupted both of them and the forthcoming argument. Ethan let out a long breath. He and Tori could argue about anything. "If this Cam person thinks a collective dream will help, then let's do it. I don't know about you guys, but the longer we wait, the less time we'll have to figure out what's going on!"

"Do you guys feel like it's already too late?" Ethan asked tentatively. That had been the part of his waking that frightened him. The dreams, in and of themselves, hadn't bothered him. But, upon waking, the feeling that it was already too late… that made every instinct he had learned as a ranger kick into overdrive.

"Yes," Tori whispered, then shook her head. "I think the dreams will make more sense if we're all there together."

"We do that tonight," Sky said, his tone brooking no argument.

* * *

Tori straightened the blankets Sky had haphazardly pulled over himself. Ethan's room was in no condition for anyone to spend the night there and, if they kept quiet, her RA wouldn't come in asking questions. She had both her beds made-up and, out of courtesy for the person who had been sleeping on park benches or the beach, she and Ethan had decided to let Sky use the spare bed. He had passed out pretty much after laying down, so it was up to her and Ethan to decipher Cam's instructions for the collective dream. 

Ethan tossed her a pillow. She caught it easily and attempted to get it under Sky's head. All her pillows were on the bed she normally used, so Sky had fallen asleep without one. Sky stirred, shifting just enough to accept the pillow.

"Cam said we should all be close, preferably touching," Tori said softly, although she doubted that an earthquake could wake Sky up right now.

Ethan nodded, a serious look on his face. This had gone straight past most of his levels of desensitization. "Can you sleep in a chair?" he asked.

A half-smile floated over her face at the implications. She had two folding chairs that they could drag next to Sky. Then, they would be close enough to him for the dream, could even touch him if that would work better. "Wouldn't be the first time," she commented.

"Fall asleep over a Shakespeare paper?"

"Now that you mention it…" She trailed off and they exchanged a grin.

"I know that feeling."

"Ethan, you've never fallen asleep over homework—just video games. You always have your papers done weeks in advance."

The former Dino Ranger held up his hands in surrender as he used his shins to push the chairs near the other bed. "I like to get stuff done, unlike you, Miss Procrastinator."

"Shut-up," Tori retorted, positioning her chair near Sky's shoulder. "This isn't going to help with getting this collective dream thing to happen."

"What do we need to do?" Ethan asked, settling himself in his chair, to the point that he could grab Sky's ankle if need be.

"Cam made it sound like I needed to be in a ninja meditative trance." She paused and met Ethan's gaze. "And I can bring you into the trance, and, since Sky's already asleep, we can both bring him into the landscape once we're there."

Ethan nodded. "Let's do this."

Tori glanced around her room, making sure that her door was locked and the curtains shut. The only light came from her desk lamp, but she figured they needed some light if they had to leave the dream quickly. She sat sideways in the chair, one hand on Sky's wrist. Her free hand she entwined with Ethan's, watching as he rested his other hand on Sky's calf. Ethan gave her one last glance before he closed his eyes, obviously ready for this.

The Wind Ranger took a deep breath and closed her own eyes, concentrating only on her breathing. The steady in and out rhythm… Her heart rate began to stabilize and become slower, steady, steeling her body for the trance. She had done this before… Once her body was calm, she concentrated on feeling Ethan and Sky near her, since she needed them in the dream as well. Sky's breathing and heart rate was already steady and rhythmic. Slowly, Ethan's calmed as she sent out her energy towards him. Since Ethan was awake, she also felt the barriers around his mind relax, so she could bring him to the dream.

She thought of the place that anchored her trances—the small lake and waterfall that concealed the portal to the Wind Ninja Academy. During her ranger days, she had gone there to think, since none of the others were quite as drawn to the water as she. Sometimes Cam joined her or she joined him, but he kept to Ninja Ops. Like a mist, the waterfall began to materialize. Holding tightly to Ethan and Sky, she made the final mental leap and opened her eyes…

_The sun was bright, but still in that early morning stage where the globe seemed brighter than in actuality. Tori blinked, taking in the comforting sound of rushing water and the familiar sights. Turning, she saw Ethan coming out of the woods, wearing a student wind uniform—with green trim. She looked down, taking in her own uniform. Blue and green—water and earth… just like Sensei had said._

"_Where's Sky?" Ethan asked._

_Tori looked around. Sky was not forthcoming. Ethan had been easy to bring into the trance, since his mind had been open. Sky had been asleep, but she had been sure she brought him here as well. "He's got to be here. Where did he say his dreams took place?"_

"_In a bedroom."_

"_That could be one of the guest rooms in the building."_

_She motioned for Ethan to follow her as she stepped out onto the water. He followed suit. "Weird," he muttered, as he didn't sink, but followed her to the portal. Raising one hand, she accessed the portal and they stepped through, coming out on a bluff that overlooked the grounds of the school._

"_You're a ninja here," Tori explained. "You can do what a ninja can do."_

"_Weird," Ethan said again._

_The grounds of the school were devoid of life. Ordinarily, students would be practicing their katas and exercises on the field, while others gathered in small groups under trees. Cam's samurai students could always been seen with a scroll or two, sometimes hauling around building supplies in their most recent project of rebuilding Ninja Ops. For whatever reason, the samurai students wanted the teachers to have a lounge away from the students._

_The building was as it should have been. The colored flags around the practice field fluttered in the light breeze. She and Ethan crossed the grounds in silence. Ethan had never been here before and was drinking in the sights. Tori smiled to herself. This would be a lot more impressive when they came tomorrow—and the students and teachers would be around. They crossed the practice field and she pulled open the door to the school building._

"_Tori! Ethan!"_

_She glanced up to see Sky coming down the stairs. Her stomach unclenched, when she hadn't known it was tied in knots. So she had brought Sky. All three of them were here. Sky was wearing a red wind student uniform. They were here—fire, water and earth… She thought of their animal spirits, their protectors, the animals had said… wolf, bear and turtle… In a sense, it seemed appropriate._

"_You've got to see this," Sky said, not giving them a chance to exchange greetings._

_Without a word, they followed Sky upstairs and into one of the many guest bedrooms. Tori had never stayed in these rooms, but had to show people here all the time. Each was large and spacious with a private bathroom. She didn't question how Sensei had enough money to build and maintain all of this._

_Sky motioned them through an open door. On the bed lay a woman Tori had never seen before in her life. She was wearing a white dress and appeared to be sleeping serenely._

"_Who is that?" Tori asked, as they stepped towards the bed._

"_I don't know," Sky said with a shrug._

"_Princess Shayla."_

_She and Sky turned to face Ethan. "Doctor O kept archives of the previous ranger teams," he explained. "She was the princess of ancient Animaria and gave the Wild Force Rangers their powers and zords and… stuff."_

"_Animaria's a myth," Sky said. "We learned about it in a mythology class I took."_

"_The ninjas used to say that the Faerie was a myth," Tori responded. "But the turtle in my dream told me that two more were coming—one singing to the moonlight and that is the fifth element of the Faerie."_

"_Still, what does Princess Shayla have to do with this?" Ethan interrupted._

"_Elements."_

_Now, Tori found herself and Ethan gaping at Sky. He had crossed his arms over his chest and was looking a little like he didn't want to be involved with the current discussion. He motioned towards the sleeping princess helplessly._

"_Elements—if Animaria and Princess Shayla aren't myths…" Sky trailed off, shaking his head. "The warriors of Animaria were guardians of the Earth. Their zords and animal spirits were also guardians of the Earth. In the time of Animaria, people believed the earth of be made of the four elements—earth, air, water and fire. We're being called by elements and animal spirits." He shrugged. "It makes sense."_

"_It does," Ethan said slowly. "I can get in touch with Doctor O and find out what I need to know about Animaria and Princess Shayla."_

"_Sensei will know about the Faerie," Tori added._

"_And, hopefully, this will start to come together." Sky sounded unsure._

_Tori met his gaze. "I hope so."_

_To be continued..._


	5. Troubled Waters I

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Five: Troubled Waters I**

_Three of the five had come together. In sleep, a smile drifted over her face as their image came to her. One was sleeping on his stomach, stretched out on a bed. His long, elegant fingers curled around a pillow and his lips were slightly parted as he let out an intermittent sigh. For a human man, he was beautiful. The female was dozing, her back against the flimsy arm of an equally as flimsy chair. Her hand curled around the wrist of the one in the bed, her blonde hair spilling over her face. The third was another male, his head resting on the bed. One arm was extended and rested on the leg of other male._

_Yes—these three would form the base for what was needed. Each one's element was grounded in the literal. Fire, water and earth were visual and concrete. Their animal spirits sang to their element and balanced them. The three were young, however, and did not have the experience. Yes, each had wielded ranger powers, but none had faced this. Lothor, Mesogog, Emperor Gruumm… those three were nothing compared to the true threat, a threat so inherent to the Earth that no one save for a select few could sense it._

_The ancient warriors of Animaria had known of the threat, but the ninjas had always been there, communing with the Faerie and there had been no reason to assume that fragile connection would be lost. Instead of keeping a watchful eye and ear, the warriors concentrated their efforts on the Master Org. In that same process, they destroyed their world, saving only the animal spirits of the Earth. Only two from that time remained… she and one other. The ancient ninja masters watched over the elements and the Faerie, while the guardians of the Earth were preoccupied._

_Now, the ninja students evolved with the times, until the stories of the Faerie became nothing more than myths along with the tales of ancient Animaria. The ninjas eventually stopped training those whose spirits sang to the fire. In that moment, the balance between the elements shattered. Without proper training, the fire ninjas went rogue and used their power in ways they saw fit. Some remained aligned with the Light, while other fell to the Darkness. Most dwelt in the Shadow, aligned with either Lightness or Darkness depending on the situation. The fire powers became warped and a myth, like the Faerie and Animaria._

_There was still a chance to restore the balance. The three represented some of that chance. Each of the five had to intricately learn his or her element. Each had to know all the properties and uses and manipulations. Each had to know how the element reacted and interacted with the others. Each had to know where the element hid in landscapes where the element was not obvious. Each had to know how the five made a whole, how that whole could heal the Earth._

_Two others were still out there. She sent out a tentative signal. One was on a planet far from Earth, aimless and wandering, feeling forsaken by friends and lovers alike. The other was closer to the three than was known, lost and alone, finding fleeting comfort in the arms of a friend. Both had spirits that sang to an animal spirit and an element. They needed to be called together, like the three that had been called._

Hawk_, she called silently. _Tiger…

_The hawk, like many winged lords of the sky, sang to the air. That element gave them flight and majesty and the hawk was no different than many others. The bird was also fiercely connected to the forthcoming air ninja. That one needed to learn to fly, to be fierce and strong, to become a warrior once more and fight for what was right. The hawk would help._

_The tiger was not the first animal spirit for the moonlight wanderer. The ninja had animal spirits before, but never the tiger. The tiger was like most large, predatory cats, sleek and graceful, devastatingly feline and beautiful, but powerful and deadly. Momentarily forsaken by all, this one needed to use beauty and power, already there, but also to learn about connections and family._

Princess_, the animals answered._

Go to them. Bring them together.

Yes, Princess.

_In a single moment, she felt them leave. The hawk descended for the Earth below, while the tiger was propelled upwards and through space._

_They would succeed and the others would come._

_They had to…_

* * *

_The sky was still that pre-dawn stone gray. He took a deep breath, watching the sky intently. The sliver of a crescent moon was still visible, but the stars had faded. Soon, the sun would rise and burn off the lingering signs of night. For some reason, that tugged at his heart in a way that he couldn't identify. He wanted the night to remain, so he could bath in the silver moonlight and drink in the energy that it offered._

_Moving, he spread his arms, trying to capture the last of the fading beams. That light was sensual and not in the cliché, harlequin novel sense. He could feel that light on his skin, feel the power and the warm caress that was offered. It was like being in a warm bath and letting the water wash over him._

_He lowered his arms, feeling the fading energy. For some reason, it had not occurred to him until now to inspect his surroundings. He was in a field—a practice field of some kind. There was a raised dais to one side, for demonstrations, he supposed. Colored flags and a fence enclosed the field. Each flag was red, yellow or blue and emblazoned with the same emblem. What the symbol was for, he didn't know. However, the field was devoid of life. He had never been in a training facility like this, but he knew that people got up before dawn to train._

_Leather creaked as he turned. Looking down, he saw that he was wearing, well, a uniform he supposed. It was made of black leather, but the trim was white. He had no clue what the uniform was for and equally less of a clue what his affinity for the moonlight meant. A sharp breeze rustled the trees around the field. The sky had turned a light blue. He frowned, wondering what that meant. He had been a Blue Ranger… had been… and he had chosen to walk away from that path a long time ago._

_The moon was still visible. That power was fading, but he could feel it trying to impart its way onto him until the next night. Like he had to store the connection and power during the day, when the moonlight power faded._

_Moonlight… Gods, what was going on?_

_This was a dream—he knew that. He also knew that, unless something or someone jolted him from sleep, he was going to remain here for a while. However, this dream seemed a little too choreographed and planned for his liking. It made him uneasy. He hadn't spent years as a ranger to have his instincts reduced to nothing._

"_Billy!"_

_He froze. That was his name, but it had been years since anyone called him by that. On Aquitar, he was known as William or just Will. No one used his childhood nickname—he had been trying to escape from so much, that shedding the name and Earth identity seemed as good as anything else, including the Aquitarian mead._

"_Billy!"_

_He knew that voice, but could not place it. The voice was female and belonged to someone who he had loved once. The tone was from a distant, hazy past and he could remember snippets of conversation, but not the face that belonged with the voice._

"_Billy."_

_Turning, he saw a female figure entering the practice field through one of the gates. She was tall and slender, with Asian features. Her black hair was loose, but had been brushed back from her face. A horrible cramping clenched his stomach. This was not right. He could not quite place who she was, but this was wrong. She should not be here, not in this world or any of the others. She was gone…_

"_No," he whispered, taking a step back._

Trust, _another voice said, but he felt like that information was strictly internal. A disembodied voice… Gods, he was going mad!_

"_No!"_

With a jolt, he yanked himself from sleep and fell out of bed. Sitting up, he scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. Perhaps he was, finally, going crazy.

* * *

"Must be a special training session," Tori muttered as she guided her van into a free space in the dirt parking lot. 

Sky looked around aimlessly. A lot of cars were parked here, but there did not appear to be a building or grounds that the students would walk to. Well, Bridge had said that the Wind Ninja Academy was a secret school. Or more, their enrollment and location was a secret. The teachers came out and did seminars at SPD. God, Bridge… the first ninja martial arts seminar he had ever attended had been right after Bridge enrolled at SPD. The Green Ranger spent the whole seminar confused out of his mind and Sky hissed instructions out of the corner of his mouth for three hours on a Saturday morning.

It had been three weeks since he left his time. Unless he managed to get back within minutes of leaving, all sorts of warrants and alerts had been sent out on him. Since he was now a time criminal, SPD would have contacted the Silver Guardians, who, in turn, would have gotten in touch with Time Force. "Time fugitive" was a wanted criminal that escaped through time. "Time criminal" was a person whose only crime was jumping around the time-line. Time Force could forcibly return him to his proper time, where he was certain to be dismissed from SPD and spend the rest of his life in a cell or containment card.

And Bridge… Bridge would be implicated for "aiding and abetting." At the least, he would be dismissed from SPD. At the worst, he'd be serving time. Although, knowing Cruger, he'd probably just allow Bridge to resign, but still… he didn't want to think that he had forced his friend to do something so… stupid.

He wondered if Bridge would actually get that message to his mother and Syd. His mother would understand—understand the sense of duty and honor that was deeply ingrained in him and understand his need to go where he was needed. Syd would be the puzzled one. He hadn't even worked up the nerve to ask her on a date and, yet, he had asked Bridge to relay his undying love for her. Did he even love her?

Well, she had been in his dreams…

"Sucks to be a student," Ethan responded to Tori's statement.

"You pretty much are a student now," she retorted.

"Whatever," the Dino Ranger brushed off her comment. "Do I get a uniform?"

Tori rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips as she killed the engine of the van and released her seatbelt. Sky released his own seatbelt, opening the passenger door and jumping out. Ethan pushed his backpack out. He caught it easily. Ethan hopped out, dragging a laptop case and a backpack. Tori's laptop case apparently was her backpack. Sky wasn't entirely sure what all the laptops were for, but, since it was Saturday, and the pair had made noises about doing research on Animaria and the Faerie, he wasn't questioning it.

She locked the van and motioned for them to follow her down a path. "So," Sky started, confused, in that, there didn't appear to be a path, just a route that Tori knew by heart. "Where is the school?"

"In the woods," Tori replied simply.

"We know that," Ethan said, picking up the thread of conversation, "but where in the woods? It doesn't look like a school is forthcoming to me."

"It's not where just anyone can find it," the Wind Ranger said.

"Then how are we going to find it?"

"You're my friends," Tori said softly. "All wind ninjas and those they name friends are welcome here."

Sky frowned as he trailed behind Tori and Ethan through the woods. Tori named him a friend? He didn't know her. Well, he sort of knew her from the dreams and that strange sense that told him she was the one he needed to follow. He had been following her and Ethan for three weeks, but had only started speaking to them in reality last night! That didn't seem enough time for anyone to consider him a friend.

Not like the others… the ones he left in 2025.

Bridge was his best friend—had been since he enrolled at SPD and they had been assigned as roommates. The Green Ranger had relied on his psychic powers at first and Sky knew that the original reasons for their roommate status had nothing to do with civilian powers. It was because Sky was relatively stable with his emotions, more so than other cadets his age. Most seventeen-year olds were still spastic, but he wasn't. Bridge, then fourteen, had been able to cope with his emotions more than the other cadets.

And Syd… she had been there before Bridge, but hadn't been on the same level as Sky. In fact, she hadn't reached A-Level training until just before they were made rangers. Being assigned to B-Squad together had been what jump-started their friendship and, even then, he'd venture to guess that they didn't become friends until after being made rangers. His feelings had grown in leaps and bounds, but he'd been loathed to admit it.

Then Z… and even Jack… they were his friends as well.

But Tori was claiming him as a friend this soon? Part of him was shocked, but the other part was pleased that she trusted him. Ethan had been hung up on the mere fact that they were going to the Wind Ninja Academy and that they might be given ninja training.

God, what was he even doing here?

The unmarked path through the woods soon opened up into a clearing. A waterfall rushed into a small pool and he could make out a creek running out of the lake. All right, there was still no school here.

"The portal's over the lake," Tori said.

Sky blinked. He didn't want to run the risk of sounding more inane, but he didn't see how they were going to get to the portal unless they swam. Oh, he was a more than capable swimmer from his SPD training, but the idea of going into water for something other than a shower had become, well, not the greatest feeling. Perhaps it was that fire was his element from the dreams or the fact that he didn't have an affinity for the water, but he still didn't want to swim.

"Give me your hands," she said softly.

Once she was holding his hand and Ethan's, he felt strangely light and floating. Tori led them out onto the water—walking on the surface of the water, instead of falling beneath it. He didn't ask how Tori was doing this. Before he knew it, they had walked through a portal and solid ground was under their feet. The bluff overlooked a school grounds.

The practice field below was identical to the practice field he had seen in his dreams. Had they all been called to this place for a reason?

They walked in silence to the main building. Sky assumed they'd get a grand tour of the grounds later, because there appeared to be a series of gardens and at least one maze, practice fields and training courses… more complex than SPD and more attuned to developing the spiritual as well as combat skills.

"Cam!" Tori called.

A man with Asian features, wearing a black ninja uniform trimmed in green stopped and nodded in acknowledgement. "Tori," he replied as they approached him. "Dad's had the south guestroom ready."

Sky didn't need to be told that the guestroom was for him, a place for him to stay since he was the one displaced on the timeline. He was the one alone…

"He'll meet you all in the library once you've settled in."

With that, Cam walked away, towards a group of students sitting under a tree. Tori moved towards the building. Sky tried to see what the students were doing, but had to follow Tori. The main entrance to the school building was impressive. High ceiling with a sun roof and a fountain and basic landscaping… more like a ritzy office building than a school. A balcony ran around, showing off the upper floors.

"This a hotel or a school?" Ethan asked.

Tori glared at him. "Library's over there," she said, motioning to a set of open double-doors on the right. "Ethan, can you start setting this stuff up while I show Sky to his room?"

The Dino Ranger nodded and wandered off towards the library. Sky was silent as Tori began some spiel about the guestrooms. All he caught was, "private bathrooms" and "service projects." Apparently, the students kept the rooms clean with fresh linens. Part of their learning to be humble and empathetic… His stomach didn't feel right and it was churning now. Tori led him to a large room. His heart stopped for a moment—the room was identical to the room in his dream. The same bed, curtains… even the candles…

"There's electricity in the bathroom," Tori said. "But Sensei wants the rooms to be less distracting."

"Oh."

"You know the way back to the library?"

He nodded.

"Meet us there in a little bit."

He nodded again, watching as she shut the door behind her. As if in a trance, he put his backpack on the bed and unzipped it, going through the few things he had brought with him. His morpher was back in 2025, as it had been the power source for the time machine. He had a change of clothing, his sleep-clothes, some toothpaste, his toothbrush and a comb. He also had his ID (which was no good here as, in this time, he was barely a year old) and some money. Ethan probably had more accessories for his laptop.

With a long sigh, he flopped face-first onto his bed, unable to identify the burning sensation in his chest.

* * *

Tori gently shut the door to Sky's room behind her, moving towards the staircase. He looked so lost this morning and… she let out a long breath, not able to articulate that strange longing in his eyes and his lethargic questions and movements. Her phone call to Sensei last night had been brief. She said she had a friend who needed a place to stay. Cam had relayed most of the information on the dreams, however, she hadn't yet told either Sensei or Cam the truth about Sky, his displacement in time… 

Ethan was unrolling cords and hooking up cables when she got back to the library. "Is he okay?" the former Dino Ranger asked without preamble.

"I don't know," Tori replied.

"Tori," Ethan said seriously, looking up from his computer work. "He's homesick."

"What?"

He gave her a bored look. "I used to go to camp all the time as a kid—even the oldest kids at the camps still got homesick." He paused. "He's got all the signs of it—being quiet, talking quietly because any louder and he'll start crying…"

Tori blinked. "You went to camp?"

"Computer camp," Ethan replied. "But, seriously, think about it. He's twenty years in the past—he's got to be missing someone!"

"Yeah and he's also a time criminal."

"I don't know him well, but that's got to be freaking him out."

Tori shook her head. "I wish we could do something."

"We can—by figuring out what's going on and giving him something to do when we have to go back to class on Monday."

"Ethan James, I didn't know you were so perceptive."

Ethan tapped his temple. "Geek—I've spent a lot of time watching people."

She grinned and sat down at the table with him. "So what's first on the list of figuring out what all these dreams mean?"

"Once I get the Internet set up here, I'm messaging Doctor O. He should be able to upload all information he has on Princess Shayla, Animaria and the Wild Force Rangers to my computer." He paused again. "Then it's up to Sensei Wantanabe to fix us up with information or a place to look on the Faerie."

Tori let out a long breath. "We're still a long way from having anything."

"We're doing better than when we started."

"True."

They fell silent as Ethan continued tinkering with his laptop. Walls of scrolls and books lined the library and Cam had a database with all the information. She hoped that something would surface… and that was increasingly seeming like they'd be working against all odds before something dire happened.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Y'all, I apologize for not replying to anyone's reviews yet! But thank you so much for reviewing and leaving such great feedback. As before, please PM if you want to get directly in touch with me! You guys are great! 

_"Expression Faery -- This faery helps in modes of expression such as dance and body posture, and with skills such as cooking, writing, acting, drawing and making love." - Brian Froud's "Good Faeries"_


	6. Troubled Waters II

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Six: Troubled Waters II**

_The sun was just peeking over the horizon. He closed his eyes reveling in the sensation of being completely relaxed—he hadn't felt this in… years. Life had gotten so hectic and he had felt so alone, but this was paradise. And he couldn't quite identify what it was about this, lying on a grassy bluff, watching the sun come up. This was normal for him. Going to a secluded beach to think had become the norm. Even she didn't know about that…_

_A sharp breeze blew, forcing his eyes open. He could feel the cool morning mist riding on that wind, but he could also feel… the wind. The air was wrapping him in a caress, more sensual than anything he had ever felt before. This was amazing. He wanted to strip off his clothing and feel that caress all over his skin. It was light and gentle, an exquisite sensation, more intense than sex, yet promising much more than an orgasm._

_Sitting up, he took in his clothing—more than he normally wore since his day jobs were training whales and life-guarding. This was a uniform of some sort, made of black leather, but had yellow trim. However, he was not sure what the uniform was for… something. Maybe it had to do with his sudden affinity for the air. He had always been a water person, feeling like a fish out of the sea when he couldn't swim, but this air felt right. And he realized, he hadn't loved swimming, so much as diving. That plunge off a diving board or cliff, feeling the air rush around him for a precious few seconds until he hit water. Amazing…_

_The bluff he had been lying on looked down over a school. Or, at least, he thought it was a school. There was a large building that looked like it could hold students' and teachers' quarters, a library and a dining hall, enough classrooms for a place of this relatively small size. There was a practice field surrounded by a fence and banners, along with several gardens and a maze. God, he was reminded of his own boarding school days—he would have loved to go to a boarding school like this, but his father had sent him to the East Coast…_

_He let out a long breath, taking in the air and shutting his eyes briefly._

"_Chad!"_

_His eyes opened at the sound of the voice. That was his name, but who was calling? The voice was male and sounded familiar, but he couldn't call up a face to go with it. Standing up, he brushed pieces of dead leaves and grass off his uniform._

"_Chad!"_

_Another male voice joined the chorus. For some reason, he believed that the two men were his friends, but he couldn't explain how or why. He had close friends once, years ago, but it had been a long time since he had spoken to any of them, except her…_

"_Chad!" two female voices called. He had heard them calling together once before, but where? Why did he feel like he knew all of these people? And why did he feel like it had been too long since he had seen them._

_He turned. Four people were coming out of the woods behind the bluff. His heart leapt into his throat. He knew them, but where? Certainly not from boarding school or either one of his jobs! But where then… he wished he could remember._

_The tallest one, a man, had a shock of sandy blonde hair and clear blue eyes. And he wore a red shirt. That should have been significant, but he didn't know why. None of these people were wearing the uniform he was. The other man had a cowboy hat and chocolate brown skin. One either side of the men were two women. One was blonde with a pink shirt. The other had curly brown hair in a high ponytail._

_Who were these people? Friends? That didn't seem enough…_

He sat up in bed, abruptly leaving sleep and the dream. Bright sunlight streamed through his bedroom window and crossed the floor. A warm female body shifted beside him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. The dream didn't make much sense and he wasn't sure that he'd ever make sense of it.

* * *

Ethan looked up from his computer to see Sky walk into the library. Well, he wasn't walking, so much as he was stumbling. He had been checking to make sure all the connections on his computer were good—Cam had indicated some high-speed internet jacks in the floor under the table. Apparently, the library, the kitchen and the bathrooms (and Ninja Ops once it was restored) were the only rooms in the school building with full electricity.

Sky looked little better than death warmed over. His eyes were bloodshot, which meant he had probably broken down in his room upstairs, then hurriedly washed his face before he came down here. Ethan wasn't going to mention it—that had been the code of honor around the guys at the camps he had gone to, one didn't mention someone else's homesickness. Ethan, himself, never got homesick, because being at computer camp meant spending all day on a computer without his parents nagging him. But he had learned how to recognize the signs of it in someone else.

He did know that, by Sunday evening, he wanted to have enough research left in order for Sky to have something to do. Ethan knew that he could probably skip all his classes on Monday—physics, he could probably take the exam now and ace it. He also had his English roundtable and Calculus. And he could get away with both of those. Who knew, maybe Sky would be interested in coming to class with them?

"Sky?" Tori asked.

The other ranger waved off her concern and sank into a chair at the main table. The library had one long table down the center of the room. Ethan gave him a commiserating look as his computer brought up the connected network information. Scanning his buddy list, he saw that he was in luck—Doctor O was on line. He was probably entering grades or something.

_Can you send me a copy of the Wild Force folder?_

He typed the message quickly and sent it. The reply was almost instantaneous.

_Sure. What's going on?_

_Long story. I'll explain soon._

Ethan clicked on the sent file and waited for it download. He was ready to bless Cam for his foresight in having high-speed internet installed in the school. "Doctor O's sending me the file on Wild Force," he announced. "If he's got any information on Princess Shayla or Animaria, it will be there."

"Doctor O?" Sky asked, looking up from the pen he had been toying with. In another stroke of ingenious foresight, Cam had trays with paperclips, white-out, pens and various and sundry other office supplies on the table.

"Tommy Oliver."

"Oh." The simple phrase said more than Ethan could have thought. Sky had obviously run into Doctor O before and had heard of him. But what person involved with ranger-powers, now or later, wouldn't know about the man? He was pretty much a legend.

"Welcome."

He looked up to see Kanoi Wantanabe, otherwise known as Sensei, walking into the library with Cam in tow. Cam immediately went to the large computer set-up in a corner and began typing furiously.

"Sensei," Tori said, standing up and embracing the man. She released him and motioned to himself and Sky. "You know Ethan."

"Yes," Kanoi said with a smile. "It has been too long. You have been well?"

"Yeah," Ethan replied with a grin. "Freshman year at college, can be brutal, so I guess everything's normal." He paused. "Oh, and thanks for letting us come here."

"You are welcome at any time."

"And this is Sky," Tori added.

Sky made a move to stand up, but Kanoi held up a hand, stopping his movement. "Welcome," he said simply, before moving to the table and taking the seat across from Ethan. "Tori, you've said that all of you have had dreams."

"Yes," Tori said quickly, taking her previous seat next to Kanoi. She quickly gave him the Cliff's Notes version of what their dreams had been. Ethan noted that she omitted mentioning that each of them had seen their closest friends or, in Sky and Tori's case, semi-girlfriend and boyfriend. That seemed like it had major significance, but not in terms of what the dreams were calling them to do. He had feeling it would be important before too much longer.

"The animals you have seen are most probably animal spirits of the earth," Kanoi said thoughtfully. "The ancient warriors of Animaria called on their protection and power."

"Did the ninjas?" Ethan asked.

"No. The ninjas relied on the elements for their power and protection." The ninja master paused. "Long ago, before the fall of ancient Animaria, the ninjas communed with the Faerie."

"Isn't there a legend that said the Faerie helped the ninjas keep the elemental balance?" Tori piped up, leaning forward on her forearms.

"The Faerie is not so much an entity or multiple beings as it is a spiritual force. The force allowed magic to enter the human realms. Because the ninjas communed with that force, the Faerie had gifted the ninjas with the protection of the moonlight, their fifth element."

"What happened?"

Kanoi looked distant and sad. "The fire ninjas began to leave the ninja orders. Once the ninjas lost the balance of the elements in their ranks, they also lost communication with the Faerie—and they lost the protection of the moonlight."

"So how does Animaria and the Faerie coincide?" Ethan questioned.

"I do not know for certain, but the ancient ninjas spoke of the animal spirits of the earth being manifestations of the Faerie. Ancient Animaria and ancient ninjas both called upon different aspects of the Faerie for their protection and power."

"That makes a little more sense," Ethan commented.

"Unfortunately, that is all I know." Kanoi motioned towards his son. "Cam is bringing up some of the legends, but I don't know how much they will tell you." He stood up. "But this school is open to you at all times, not just during this quest." He smiled. "You are all ninja, even if you do not realize it yet."

"Thanks," Ethan said sincerely.

"Sky," Kanoi said, looking at the forlorn ranger from the future. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Ethan watched as Sky stood up and followed Kanoi out of the library. He met Tori's gaze. What was that all about?

* * *

"Sensei and Sky have been talking for a really long time," Tori commented as she and Ethan trooped out across the school grounds in search of Dustin. They had each brought enough clothing with them for an overnight trip and had changed into workout clothes. Tori had opted not to wear either her student uniform or teacher uniform. Both would indicate that she here in a capacity that she wasn't.

Cam had suggested that they begin rudimentary training with the elements from their dreams. Tori was already a water ninja and a teacher, but Ethan needed to begin training for an earth ninja. Dustin was supposedly on the grounds somewhere, but didn't have formal lessons scheduled until that afternoon. So, it was off to find Dustin and get him to begin training Ethan in the ways of the earth ninja. Ethan, for his part, seemed elated at this turn of events.

"Yeah," Ethan responded. "But Sensei's not stupid—he's probably figured out that Sky's not from this time and that he's really homesick."

"He also doesn't have his morpher, so he probably feels even more vulnerable," Tori added, craning her neck down the path of one of the gardens. The last time she and Ethan had seen either of them, they had been walking down a path in one of the gardens. Sensei was like a father to she and the rest of the Ninja Storm Rangers. Well, he actually was Cam's father… Right now, it seemed that Sky needed that kind of stability.

"That's not the only reason he'd feel vulnerable," Ethan muttered.

"Really?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Come on, he pretty much has to rely on charity here, since he has no money that works in this time, his ID is no help, he's got pretty much no clothes… I'd feel really vulnerable."

"He must have had so much faith to do this."

"That doesn't stop anything he'd be feeling."

"True."

They continued on in silence until they passed a group of earth students. "Where's Dustin?" she asked them.

"He was near the maze," one of them answered.

"Maze?" Ethan asked.

"Helps with focus and relaxation," Tori explained. "The students like to walk it right before their classes and the teachers right after."

"Is there a Minotaur in the middle?"

"Very funny," she replied dryly. "Unless Dustin can be considered a Minotaur…"

The maze was situated between the old garden and one that the earth students tended to. The earth students' garden was overflowing with flowers and herbs, small bushes and small trees, like they wanted to put as much plant life in as possible. The paths wove in and out of the greenery and one had to constantly duck from the overhead foliage. The old garden was simple with flowing paths, stone benches, a fountain and a few flowers.

Dustin was sitting in the center of the maze. Most of the students would assume he was meditating, but Tori knew he was dozing, probably from a late Friday night and an early morning, from when Cam would have wanted him here.

"Dustin!" she called.

The earth ninja snapped to attention, scrambling to his feet. "Tori! Dude! You so didn't tell me that you were going to be here today!" He blinked and took in Ethan. "Hi Ethan… Dude, what are you doing here?"

"Long story," Ethan replied with a snort.

"Dude, we've got time!" Dustin said, motioning to some low benches situated just outside the last ring of the maze. He walked over the stones laid into the ground, not bothering to follow the maze again to get out.

Tori smirked as Ethan proceeded to give Dustin the extreme abbreviation of what had been going on and what had brought the former Dino Ranger here. "So, you, like, need me to train you?" Dustin asked at the end of the summary. Ethan nodded. "Cool!"

For someone who had become a ninja master—an earth ninja master, Dustin still refused to grow-up and adopt the finesse of other, older ninja masters. It worked well with his students, Tori reflected. They trusted their teacher without a doubt and took after his example of absolute trust in his friends and in his elemental powers.

"This is great!" Dustin was saying. "My second level class is meeting this afternoon for some serious help sessions. You can sit in on them." He paused. "And I can start showing you this basics before they show up, but, dude, we've got to grab lunch first, because I'm starving! Sensei's got, like, this awesome buffet set up on the weekends."

Trust any conversation with Dustin to end up at food. Tori shook her head as Ethan and Dustin headed off for the main building. Dustin was talking animatedly about training, while Ethan was asking equally as enthused questions. Literally, Ethan and Dustin were different sides of the same coin. Both had an enthusiasm for life and little things that far outstripped the rest of them and both had a deeply ingrained sense of trust. Ethan's was placed in technology and teachers, while Dustin's was placed with his friends, but, still, trust.

She glanced at the stone courtyard that had the maze etched into it. Tori placed herself at the starting point and began walking the twisted path. In a distant garden, one of the additions to the old garden, she could see Sky walking with Sensei. The other Blue Ranger appeared a good deal calmer from the distance, but she couldn't make out any expressions or hear what they were saying.

Instead, she let herself focus on her feet traveling the maze. The twisting and turning required concentration and allowed her to center and focus. Cam was printing out the information he had on the Faerie in the database and Tori had promised Ethan she'd thoroughly go through the Wild Force folder while he was training.

The pieces were starting to fall into place, but there were still gaps.

* * *

_The Faerie… the life blood of the earth…_

_She turned her energy from the clouds and her sanctuary towards the earth. Cracks had begun to appear in the protective magic that the ancients had woven. The balance was off. Fire had fallen to the Shadow. No one sang to the moonlight. The five had to restore the balance and work together. Not only did they need to know their elements, they needed to know each other. They had to know each other better than themselves and that was not something that would come naturally to these souls. Each was hesitant of attachment, having had something near and dear ripped from them._

_Tiger had fled in an attempt to ease his broken and bleeding heart. The woman he had loved had left him alone and, soon, all contact between them stopped. He willingly gave his ranger powers to another in a true act of altruism and, still, his friends slowly began to fall from his side. Other ranger powers were denied to him and, with the one being that had shown him kindness, he left. Now, he was alone, far from his home planet and drowning in his own grief. His heart, his soul-mate, had died. He knew that and the knowledge was killing him._

_Wolf had experienced loss at too young an age. His father, the man he had admired, looked up to, imitated, torn from him by a rogue criminal. His mother had to work hard to make ends meet. His dream had been to follow in his father's footsteps and, even that, had been denied to him. He had the potential, but he still needed to learn and grow. One woman loved him from afar, but his heart was not ready to accept her love. Afraid of losing her as well, he pretended ignorance and went about his life. But he had faith… only that would have brought him to the others._

_Bear had always been a loner, but he fiercely protected his friends, just as a bear protects its young. His two closest friends were not those he would have chosen for himself, but they loved him nonetheless. He had great faith in logic and science, convinced that each would come through for him in the end. He had grown in leaps and bounds, but he had to learn to open his heart to strangers, while being a rock for them to rely on._

_Turtle knew and trusted her ninja and elemental powers. She loved her friends, life and nature. She was the most open and willing to listen. But her heart, her soul-mate, was the one that needed to be shown the path. He followed his mind, while she followed hers. Both had to come together eventually, but not now. That wait was making her impatient and antsy. She had to center herself and help the others flow with their elements and each other._

_And Hawk… she did not know when his heart had gone astray. He had always had a natural affinity for the outdoors—the ocean and animals. After his time as a ranger ended, he went back to what he had always done, but he had been alone, bereft. When an old friend came to him, he went to her, willingly and did not understand why the ache was still constant. He needed the base of friendship before he could fully accept the love he was being offered. But he also needed to learn to soar and trust that his friends and his lover would be at his back, waiting for his return._

_Shadows in the garden…_

_Fire had fallen to the Shadow, but Wolf understood all too well the shadow side of himself. He would know to embrace the shadows in himself before he could bring his spirit and the fire back to the Light. Moonlight was sleeping, dormant. Tiger had to learn to awaken the sleeping parts of himself, to feel again and to feel pain in order to awaken the moonlight and bring its protective balm back._

_The other elements were in chaos without fire or moonlight. Bear, Turtle and Hawk would be able to control their elements. Trust was key. Once the five were in harmony with themselves, each other and their elements… their task would be easier. But that still did not prevent the long, arduous journey after that had been achieved._

_The road was long and hard._

_But the earth needed to heal before Darkness overtook the Shadow and evil reigned._

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Moving right along here! Continued thanks to everyone for your support and comments. In many ways, you are the lifeblood behind these pieces getting completed in a timely fashion. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

_"Faery Eyes -- Faery eyes cane truly be said to be windows of the soul, but it is our own souls they reflect back to us, mirrors of our inner state. This can be disquieting if we are not at ease within ourselves. Faery eyes can seem inhuman, for they are fathomless. Just as the sea is very cold at great depths, so faery eyes can seem cold as they gaze at you from the deepest mysteries of the universe. Yet their eyes can also reveal great wisdom, hilarity or sorrow -- and depths of compassion that are far beyond our mortal understanding." _Brian Froud, "Good Faeries"


	7. Troubled Waters III

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Seven: Troubled Waters III**

"Good morning, starshine!"

Sky groaned and blinked. If that was Bridge's idea of a wake-up call, then he needed to seriously kick his roommate's ass during training that afternoon. He stretched, reaching towards his alarm clock… but all he hit was another pillow and more expanse of mattress. What the… He sat up quickly, a voluminous comforter falling away. A king-sized bed? Since when did he have a king-sized bed at the academy?

Ethan was standing near the edge of the bed… and everything came tumbling back to him. He wasn't at the academy, so that would explain a few things. Bridge also wouldn't have been waking him up. Most of the time, he had to wake Bridge up. For as long as Sky could remember, Bridge had intermittently taken sleeping pills. Consequently, Bridge hardly ever heard his alarm clock in the mornings. But that didn't matter and thinking about the people he had left behind wasn't going to help.

"Tori says get up," Ethan informed him in a matter-of-fact voice.

"What time is it?" Sky asked, letting out a long breath and rubbing his eyes.

"9:14."

He glanced over at the travel-sized, battery-powered clock Cam had loaned him last night before they all turned in. Not knowing the time had been driving him crazy, to the point that he checked Ethan's watch every few minutes. He didn't normally wear a watch at SPD, simply because there was a clock in the morphers… and he managed to break every watch he had ever owned just by creating a large force field. Cam had blandly suggested last night that he go buy a watch, but keep it in his pocket. There was an obvious thing he hadn't thought of before…

"Apparently, Cam's making breakfast," Ethan added. "Something about there not normally being this many people around here at breakfast time."

Last night, Ethan and Tori had decided to stay at Tori's parents' house in Blue Bay Harbor. Since the Wind Ninja Academy was now Sky's permanent address, he hadn't gone with them, preferring some solitude and a long, hot shower. Of course, they hadn't sifted through any of the information they had been given yesterday. Ethan had been training with Dustin most of the afternoon and Tori, rather than going through the Wild Force folder, had taken him into Blue Bay Harbor, so he could get some extra clothing and toiletries. He hated the idea of taking charity from anyone, but Sensei—Kanoi—had told him that, as a ninja, the resources of the Wind Ninja Academy were open to him at any time.

"Come on," the former Dino Ranger continued. "There's bacon!"

Sky blinked. "That's incentive?"

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know—do you like bacon?"

"Maybe."

"Just get up and come eat when you're ready."

With that, Ethan left the room. Sky stayed still for a moment. This was the exact room from his dreams. God, he hoped he wasn't going to start having erotic dreams about Syd and the nature of what had gone on in his other dreams. He stretched. The bed was really nice though—reminded him fully of how hard and narrow the beds at the academy were. And he wasn't entirely sure why everyone kept calling him a ninja, since, as yet, he had not done anything that would grant that classification.

Although… there was that really distracted, running his finger through a candle flame at dinner last night. Sensei seemed to have thought that meant something. Sky was pretty sure it was just a reaction, since he had done that frequently as a child.

With a groan, he got out of bed and padded into the bathroom. Bright sunlight poured from behind the curtains over the balcony. It amazed him that, in twenty years, nothing had really changed about bathroom facilities. Even the kitchen, while it didn't have a food replicator, had all the conveniences that a full kitchen in 2025 would have.

After getting dressed and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs to the kitchen. Cam was moving around the stove quickly. Tori and Ethan were sitting at the island in the kitchen, both with various papers spread out between them.

"Read this," Ethan said, shoving a piece of paper at him.

Sky took the printed page, the tantalizing smell of pancakes and bacon wafting through the large kitchen. It seemed like it had been ages since he had a breakfast like this. Meals at SPD were specifically chosen for nutritional balance.

"If an element falls to the Shadow or lies sleeping, chaos of the elements ensues," he read aloud. "What does that even mean?"

"Shadow," Ethan said. "Balance point between Light and Dark."

"What?" His stomach rumbled. This state of mind was not unfamiliar to him—he had taken to completing chores and tasks before breakfast and then joining the others when they dragged themselves out of bed.

"Forces of Light and forces of Dark," Cam said from the stove. "The Shadow is the point in between. They follow their own codes—if they happen to align with the Light or Dark in their quest, then all the better."

Sky sat down at the island, next to Tori, just as Cam pushed another plate of fresh pancakes and bacon towards them. He filled a plate and began to eat. Someone also had a pitcher of pineapple juice on the island. This was kind of nice, he reflected, leisurely mornings with home-cooked breakfast…

"Okay," Sky said slowly. "But what does that have to do with us?"

"We were hoping you'd have some insight," Ethan replied.

"I'm with SPD—we're cops, not mystics." He paused. "Besides, if all of this is myths, wouldn't you be able to find it in a textbook?"

Ethan and Tori exchanged a glance. "That's not a bad idea…" Ethan said in a musing tone of voice.

* * *

English roundtable… Tori rested her cheek on her palm as she focused on a spot somewhere above the professor's left shoulder. Ethan had his laptop out and connected to the school's network—he took notes on his computer, so it came to all classes. This was their last class on Monday before they could ninja streak to Blue Bay Harbor… or, she could ninja streak while Ethan held on for dear life.

The weekend information had come to a stand-still. Nothing new on the Faerie or Animaria came up. Ethan had tried to contact the Wild Force Rangers, but none of them had any information on how to reach Princess Shayla. She had a feeling that this princess was key to figuring out what was going on, but no one knew how to find her. And none of them had any more dreams over the weekend. Sensei had told them to be patient and concentrate on singing to their elements. For Tori, that meant hours of meditation. For Ethan, that meant spending large amounts of time with Dustin that ended up in mud fights. Cam had given Sky a box of matches and Tori could see fledging control over the element.

Sky was in Blue Bay Harbor, attempting to organize their information and participate in some basic level one ninja training. He'd learn general things like how to levitate and ninja streak, plus a few katas and meditation techniques. Sensei would keep him busy, Tori knew that much. And if Sensei didn't, Cam would. The samurai hated people underfoot.

Ethan nudged her and nodded towards his computer screen.

The former Dino Ranger was in an IM conversation with Sky. His screen name was simply his real name. Tori grinned, reached over Ethan and typed, _This is Tori. Really original screen name there._

_I didn't know screen names had to be original._

Ethan shook his head. Tori stifled laughter. _It's Ethan again,_ the former Dino Ranger typed. _What are you doing on IM?_

_Giving you hints on the novel. I had to read it in English my senior year of high school._

Tori and Ethan exchanged a glance. Neither of their high schools would have dreamed of assigning _the Handmaid's Tale_, because of the controversy. Their professor, however, felt that all of them were mature enough to handle the themes presented therein. If the giggling in the current discussion attested to their maturity level, Tori hated to think what would happen if they studied really controversial material.

_Ecology?_ Ethan typed.

The next spiel made Tori gape at the screen. For someone who worked for a police organization, Sky knew a lot about literature, which made his comment on textbooks begin to make more sense. That was totally at odds with his tough-guy exterior.

"Mr. James, Miss Hanson, the giggling and staring at the screen is making it very hard for me to pretend that you're not paying attention."

Tori snapped to attention, focusing her gaze on her notebook. She hadn't taken any notes this class and she normally, at least, outlined what had been said. This particular professor posted his outlines on the school website so she copied them later. Tori scribbled Ethan a note on the corner of her notebook and nudged him.

_Sky should come to class with us._

Ethan nodded, smiling. Maybe Sky could give the professor a run for his money with some of the upcoming novels.

_Take him to Shakespeare_, Ethan wrote back.

Tori grinned, shaking her head.

It amazed her that, while all of them had dreams that scared them enough to take drastic measures (or Sky, at any rate), they could still function on an every day level, arguing about school and dumb screen names. Ethan's fingers were still flying over the keyboard, which meant he was still instant messaging Sky. Cam probably had something to do with that one, as Cam thought technology was next to godliness.

_No go_, Ethan scribbled in the margin of her notebook. _Says he doesn't know a thing about Shakespeare._

She shook her head, sitting back and doing what the rest of the class was doing—staring off into space and asking for questions to be repeated since no one heard them the first time. Their information was sketchy at best. The one piece of information about that Faerie referred to the elements falling into chaos. Sensei had said that fire ninjas were of the Shadow, so it made sense that fire had fallen to the Shadow. It also made sense that the moonlight was sleeping, since the ninjas had stopped communing with the Faerie.

The turtle in her dream had said that air and moonlight were coming. That meant that two others were probably getting the same dreams and being called. Sensei had said that it would probably be best to wait for them, but do some elemental training in the meantime. She wondered which others were being called. It was likely that both would be former rangers. She, Ethan and Sky were Blue Rangers… she was not sure what that meant to their mission, but she hoped that the last two had also worn blue. That would tie them together in a way that just having been rangers wouldn't. What way, she didn't know…

_Ethan,_ she scribbled. _What does the color blue mean?_

Ethan glanced at the note and nodded, his fingers flying once more. He had probably put it into a search engine and was bringing it up. After a few moments, he picked up the pen and began to quickly write some information.

_Calming—natural, universal color; brings peace, keeps bad spirits away._

Universal color? She blinked. The last bit about bringing peace and keeping bad spirits away was interesting, but the fact that blue was universal color intrigued her. The color was seen worldwide in the skies and oceans. A blue sky had to be the one image that each human on the planet could identify with… is that why they were all Blue Rangers? Blue was the one color that brought the entire earth together. And the places all peoples had seen blue was natural, nothing synthetic or forced.

She quickly wrote that down, watching the frown grace Ethan's features. He met her gaze, those brown eyes revealing so much. It made perfect sense.

And, now, all they could do was wait.

* * *

"Why are we here?"

Ethan fought the urge to snicker as Sky looked at the storefront with apprehension. This was one of the larger gas stations on the edge of Blue Bay Harbor—it also doubled as a truck stop and sold just about everything within reason.

"Because I am tired of the matches," Tori said. "You need a lighter and this place sells some really good ones."

Sky didn't look convinced and glanced toward Ethan for help. Ethan shrugged and waved him in after Tori. He had learned in the tenure of his friendship with Tori that one didn't really question her once she decided something. Besides, at least this was just going to a gas station to buy a lighter… and nothing too weird. And, he had to admit, the popping matches had been getting old. A lighter would encourage him to start thinking of other ways to manipulate the element aside from keeping it confined to the matches.

The store was fairly empty for an evening. A few trucker types milled around near the coffee bar, but no one else was about except for the employees. Tori marched straight to the section carrying the various lighters.

"Pick one," she told Sky.

He looked around helplessly. "I don't know."

Ethan shook his head, deciding to intervene. "Zippo," he said.

"What?" Sky was starting to look truly lost.

He pulled a lighter off the display rack and handed it to Sky. "There," he said. "Decision is made and you're not allowed to have anymore matches."

Sky rolled his eyes. Tori patted his arm. "See? That wasn't too hard."

"I kind of liked the matches," he grumbled.

Ethan looked through a bin of DVDs as Tori picked up drinks and paid for everything with the ninja school's credit card. The teachers and Sky were allowed to put charges on it for school-related items. Apparently Tori had decided that a lighter and soda for them fell under that category. Sky looked a little appalled at that, but kept his mouth shut.

Outside, they sat on a bench near a pile of firewood. Sky got into the lighter, striking the flame and then extinguishing it. "I think I liked the matches," Ethan said to Tori.

She grinned. "You have to switch," she told Sky. "So neither gets annoying."

The world seemed to zip past them as they lolled in front of the store, sipping their sodas, lost in their own thoughts. Ethan had to be back at the school by four so that he could sit in on Dustin's level three class and then get some private lessons. He was a far cry from doing anything that Dustin could do, but he was able to manipulate small amounts of dirt. Dustin seemed to think that his progress was amazing.

"Hmmm," Tori said after a while. "I think nap time should be a class."

"Hey, I tried to pitch that to the academic dean," Ethan replied.

"Sleep research?" Sky asked idly.

"Yeah—he didn't seem to think it was a good idea."

They were silent for another long moment. "Ever wonder if we're going to figure out what's been going on with us?" Sky asked softly.

"All the time," Ethan replied.

* * *

_Night had fallen. He was back in the field that he had been in earlier. The moon was full and shone brightly. He drew in a deep breath, letting the nocturnal beams shine on him. The light felt like a warm bath, something he could bask in and draw energy from. The moonlight soothed his shot nerves and stressed mind. Since the first dream, things had been hectic and he had never felt homesickness more acutely than he did now. But the moonlight acted as a balm and he felt calmer and at ease._

_Taking another deep breath, he felt the moonlight renew his energy and his very soul. Leather creaked as he stretched his hands towards the glowing orb. He was wearing the same uniform as before. The white trim almost glowed in the light of the night. What was this a uniform for? Black leather, white trim… a symbol on the left breast that matched the symbols on the flags fluttering around the field? It all meant something, but he didn't know what._

_Lowering his arms, he looked at the sky. It was not black, as most people perceived the night sky to be. Instead, the sky was a dark navy blue. He had not worn a ranger color other than blue and, seeing it passed to another had hurt, but why did he see blue in the sky. Something about these colors was also significant, but he did not know what. He stared at the moon, eclipsed by trees swaying in the breeze._

_A short, feral growl cut through the silence._

_He jumped, his heart hammering. Perhaps he was going crazy since he felt like the growl had been a simple hello, rather than a prelude to him becoming lunch. Turning slowly, he tried to find the source of the noise. There were swinging gates to the practice field, looking flimsy enough to be torn through by a child._

_A tiger had pushed through the gates and was striding towards him. Unlike most, this creature had black stripes that were tinted blue. Orange and navy blue… the beast came towards him with a calm, amber-eyed gaze, assessing him and accepting him. The tiger stepped close to him and nudged his hand. Without thinking, he began to stroke the animal, reveling in the feel of silky, warm fur beneath his fingers._

Moonlight ninja_, the tiger said without actually making a noise. _I am at your service

"_You're at my service?"_

_He had various animal spirits before, but none had come to him in this form and pledged loyalty. This was amazing… he dropped to his knees, running his hands over the graceful, feline form. The tiger purred in response._

Yes. The others have already arrived. Go to them.

"_Where are they?"_

You know where to find them. They are waiting. They need you.

_The tiger nudged him one last time in a goodbye and strode out of the practice field and into the night. He stared after the tiger. What others had already been called? They needed him? He was nothing more than a has-been ranger, who couldn't even bear new ranger powers._

"_Billy…"_

_That was not the voice from before. Instead, it was feminine, lower and more mysterious. This was enchanting, but innocent and powerful._

"_Can you awaken the moonlight, Tiger?"_

"_I don't know," he replied._

_The presence faded away into the night. He frowned. As soon as that odd spirit left, someone stepped into the practice field. The woman from his first dream… She was wearing a yellow tank top, her long black hair loose. A lump lodged in his throat. Trini… but she had died. What was she doing here? It wasn't possible… but as much as he didn't want it to be, he did. He wanted to hear her voice, tell her what he never could in high school…_

"_Billy," she whispered, stepping close to him, one hand going to his cheek._

"_Trini," he replied, a tear falling down his cheek. "But how? You're—"_

"_Dead?" A sad smile graced her features. "Yes, but I am always with you. I know that you loved me… I loved you as well, but too much came between us."_

"_I would have done anything."_

"_I know… you always were my one true love." She paused. "But you need to move on and live. Those others need you. You can help them." Trini pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, unlike anything he had ever dreamed he'd receive from her in real life. He had always just been her best friend, the nerd she defended. "Bye…"_

"_Wait!" But she was gone… He stared at the place where she had been, aware of the damp tears on his face and the despair ripping through his heart._

_Three others came into the practice field. One was a tall guy with spiked hair and a red uniform. The other male had a green uniform and was African American. The girl had blonde hair and a blue uniform. Without knowing them, their names came to him… Sky, Ethan, Tori…_

"_I'll get there," he said, feeling like he was babbling hysterically. "I want to help. I didn't want to leave the rangers like that… I didn't!"_

_One last plea came to him before waking intruded upon sleep._

Hurry…

_To be continued..._


	8. Troubled Waters IV

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Eight: Troubled Waters IV**

_The sun had set, taking with it the pleasant warmth of day. The breeze had grown colder and sharper, but that seemed all the more powerful to him. He was on the bluff from previously, lying on the grass, now cool and damp with dew. The wind blew again, covering him in it gentle embrace. He wanted to contemplate that interplay of air and water, the way the earth seemed like a cocoon to find sanctuary in. Sitting up, he glanced down at the school, taking in the feel of it at night. Lights gently glowed from the main building. Three students sat on the large front porch, sipping something from mugs._

_He glanced down at his clothing, the uniform from earlier. Whatever the designation of yellow meant at the school, he was fairly certain that he belonged to their ranks. It was peaceful up here—and he felt more at ease than he had in a long time. Perhaps he truly did need to just pack up and move, go somewhere that no one would know him, start with a clean slate, a slate not smeared with childhood failed opportunities and ranger powers._

_The night sky was navy blue and studded with stars, twinkling like diamonds. This was the perfect night for a moonlit stroll or walk on the beach. If he had actually lasted at law school, he could imagine building a bonfire on the sand and roasting marshmallows, laughing at the drunk people. For some reason, that felt like an activity the three students seated on the porch would enjoy. They were conversing, but were too far off for him to make out their conversation._

_A screech pierced the stillness._

_He frowned, his heart hammering a little more quickly than normal. That had sounded like it could belong to any variety of animal, but he wasn't sure. All his experience with animals had been aquatic animals, all trained to work with and obey humans. This sounded far too feral and wild to be something he'd encounter at Sea World._

_A bird landed on the bluff next to him. It was fairly large, but not overly so with glossy brown feathers, each tinged a shade of blue. A hawk? The bird primly turned to face him._

Air ninja_, it said, voice echoing into his mind. _I am at your service

"_What?"_

The others have arrived—they wait for you.

"_What others?"_

Tiger, Wolf, Turtle and Bear.

_He blinked, not comprehending what those animal designations meant. Who was he supposed to find and how was he going to find them with no names? His older brother might help him with that, but still._

"_How do I find them?"_

You already know. Go. They are waiting.

_With that, the hawk took flight. He frowned, staring after the bird. What others needed his help? Did that explain these crazy dreams? Slowly, almost like incense, he felt another presence fill the bluff. It was not harmful or malign, just present. "Chad…" He was not afraid of this, like he would have been by a demon who wouldn't show itself._

"_You sing to the air, Hawk. Can you bring it from chaos?"_

"_Chaos?"_

"_Yellow belonged to the air ninjas—it is yours now."_

_The presence began to fade. "Wait!" he called. "I don't understand."_

"_You do—I will be with you soon."_

_She faded—the presence had been female and vaguely familiar, yet foreign at the same time. He let out a long breath, feeling like he didn't need this on top of… everything else. But he wanted an adventure, he wanted an excuse to get away…_

_A branch crackled in the forest. He spun around, looking for the source of the noise. The people from his previous dream were there. He wasn't sure why he hadn't been able to place their names before, since he felt like he knew them so intimately. Their names burst into his memory as they stood before him—Carter, Joel, Dana and Kelsey… there was something about Kelsey, something he knew would come to him in waking, but that he could not remember at this particular moment._

"_Good luck," Carter said seriously._

"_We're always here for you, man," Joel added._

_Dana walked forward and embraced him. He returned the hug, knowing that Dana was the most affectionate of the group. "We're your friends," she whispered. "We'll always love you." Her words warmed his heart. He had known that somewhere in the back of his mind, but hearing it made all the difference in the world. Dana released him and walked back to the others._

_His dark eyes fell on Kelsey. Her gaze was guarded and a distant smile graced her lips. Love shone purely from that gaze, but… too much had happened. He stepped towards her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We'll work this out," he whispered._

"_I know," she replied._

_They turned and faded as they stepped back into the forest. He turned and gazed down on the school once more. The trio was still sitting on the porch, laughing about something. Without memory, their names came to him. Sky was the one in gray sweatpants and a blue t-shirt. Tori was the girl, sitting next to him, wearing pajama pants with blue clouds or sheep on them. The other guy was Ethan, wearing blue plaid pajama pants._

_His stare moved to the practice field. A lone man was lying on his back, arms and legs spread out as the moonlight shone on him. Billy… He was wearing a tank top and loose pants, both in a shade of blue._

"_Chad!" one of the trio on the porch suddenly called._

He sat up quickly, scrubbing his hands over his face. All he knew was that he had to get to them and quickly.

* * *

Princess… it is done.

_A smile floated over her features as the tiger and the hawk came to her. They had been successful in their missions to call Tiger and Hawk to the others. Their journeys would begin soon and each would join the others. In a short time, the five would be together. Turtle had already put some of the pieces together. She, herself, would add the rest of the pieces once they were all together at the ninja school._

"_Good… call the others."_

Yes, Princess.

_The animal spirits went off to gather the other three—wolf, bear and turtle. Each of them had spent their time divided between the Animarium, awaiting more orders from her and at the ninja school, looking over the humans they were protecting. The spirits would return here and she would send them to their humans once and for all. The five needed that protection and assurance to begin training for their elements._

_In a matter of moments, the five animal spirits were before her. The hawk had landed on one shoulder of the bear, while the turtle was born by the same animal. The five animals spirits were diverse, but represented five human dreamers. These animals knew the intimate wishes of their humans' hearts, wishes that the humans were not aware of._

"_Stay with them," she commanded. "Protect them. I will join them soon."_

_Princess, they whispered, falling into a bow. She was still the princess of Animaria and one of the ancient warriors still walked the earth. He had his own path to follow now and he could not sense the unbalance, the chaos… he had to forgive himself before he could open up to the world and she could not help him. Their paths had permanently diverged. The animals would listen to her, she knew that, trusted their loyalty._

_She watched as the animals took off to join their human dreamer._

_And it was time for her to awaken and rejoin the Animarium from her waking state. The animal spirits responded to her as she slept, but she needed her full powers once the five came together, in order to help them and guide them._

She blinked. The sun was bright and eyes that had slept for years were not used to that intensity. Immediately, she squinted, the process of getting used to the light a slow one. She had fallen asleep in her hammock. Flower petals and leaves had fallen onto the stone courtyard in front of the old temple. The trees were changing colors, bending towards fall. In the distant fields, she could hear the animals playing and… living.

It always amazed her that, while she could sleep for centuries uninterrupted, she had no need of sleep once she awakened. That was a bonus. She would be able to appear to the five in their dreams, learning their hearts as most guards went down with sleep. Souls hesitant of attachment… she had known so many like that, but these five were unique in the task that had been set before them.

Blue… blue as the sea… blue skies…

The world… their world…

She stretched her arms over her head, feeling the joints protest and snap. Her fingers brushed a stone pillar and a vine. The foliage would sort itself out once her full power began to flow once again. Moving as quickly as her stiff body would allow her, she swung her feet to the stone floor, wiggling her toes and smoothing down her dress. The wrinkles would need to be washed out and her hair had become matted, the flowers smashed together.

Stretching again, she walked towards the temple where her few personal possessions were—a wooden comb, some scented oil… the other towels and linens had been left by the Wild Force Rangers when they gave up their powers. She was sure they all wondered about a missing pillow, favorite towel or old shirt from time to time, but gave up puzzling where it had gotten to. She would wash those articles and return them when she descended to earth, but that was still some time off. The five were not even together yet.

In the temple, she picked up her comb and the small vial of oil. Selecting a pale pink towel, she headed towards the lake. The process of picking the flower petals out of her long hair was tedious, but soon done as she ran the comb through her hair, detangling it and starting to resemble a princess rather than a wayward street girl. Her dress she washed and lay on the grass to dry.

Lying back on the shore of the lake, she stared at the blue sky.

_Who was it shouted with joy when blue was born?_

* * *

"William!"

Billy Cranston turned. The ship was nearly loaded—a few supplies and survival kit in case he crash-landed somewhere, his few personal possessions… He found it ironic that everything he held dear could be placed into a shoulder bag and the bag could be thrown around, nothing would break. Pictures, a few letters, some cheap trinkets that reminded him of better days, a paper fan that she had given out as a party favor at her ninth birthday… Really, the items were nothing of consequence to anyone else.

Aurico was striding past other ships in the loading bay, looking concerned. The Red Ranger had become a close friend and had remained the fighting force of Aquitar for all these years. For whatever reason, being around the Aquitarian rangers had not bothered him, but when Aurico brought him news of other rangers on Earth… that was when the old pain set in.

"You know where you are going?" he asked.

"Earth," Billy replied. "California. I'll land near Angel Grove and do the rest on foot."

"You are certain your destination is near?"

He let out a short, mournful laugh. "I'm not sure of anything."

Aurico gave him an appraising look. "You have great faith," he replied shortly. "I do not know anyone that trusts his instincts like you."

"Either that or I'm the world's biggest fool."

"There is a fine line between the Fool and the Magician," Aurico said gravely. "Travel lightly, my friend, for what you bring with you becomes part of the landscape."

It was an old journey blessing on Aquitar and he knew that he should have been flattered that Aurico was imparting it on him. But he couldn't stop himself from mulling over the implications of 'travel lightly.' He knew that he had been harboring deep feeling of resentment, couldn't quite bring himself to let go. There were times when he didn't think about old times and he felt lighter, more at ease. Going to Earth just brought all those feelings into sharper perspective. Cestria had said, once, that he hadn't allowed himself to feel angry or to mourn, since all those feelings made him feel guilty.

What he and Cestria had had ended years ago. Part of him felt vaguely bad for jumping on the chance to leave. Besides, Cestria had shown him all the feelings he had wanted from someone else. For a while, it felt like love. For a while, he felt like he'd be truly happy. He had been too naïve and Cestria ended their brief relationship. Sometimes, he felt like she knew him better than he would ever know himself.

"Can you tell Cestria that I said goodbye?" he asked softly.

Aurico nodded. "I will." He paused. "Do not leave here with burdens."

"Cestria and I made our peace years ago," Billy replied softly.

"Goodbye then, my friend," Aurico replied. "Travel lightly."

"And you."

The last of the supplies had been loaded and the cargo bay doors had been shut. Billy nodded towards his closest friend, getting into the pilot's seat of the ship. The computer had pre-set coordinates for Earth. He could manually override those at any time. He just hoped that Angel Grove was close enough to his final destination.

He hoped that he wasn't too late.

* * *

"You're going _where_?"

"I don't know… there, somewhere…" Chad Lee gestured vaguely towards an undefined area somewhere south of Mariner Bay. He looked between the knapsack on his bed and his open dresser drawers, not sure what to pack or even what he would need. Everything was so undefined and so elusive…

"Chad," Kelsey said, stepping towards him. "What's going on?"

What was going on? He had that very same question himself. Letting out a long breath, he wondered how his life had come to this, how he had ended up losing contact with all the other Lightspeed Rangers with the exception of Kelsey and how he could remotely explain any of this. He had two dreams—just two and he was convinced that he had to find four other people. There had been a lot of blue in the dreams and he had been attuned to the ancient elements, the air, and he had a yellow uniform. Now he was getting on a bus that was heading south, down the coast, passing through several small coast towns. He had a feeling that he would find what he was looking for in one of those places.

"It's hard to explain," he said slowly.

"Like, are the demons back?" Kelsey asked, looking genuinely confused.

Chad sighed as he began to stuff random articles of clothing into the knapsack. He cared about Kelsey, he really did, but he felt like he had to center himself and get his life back on track before he could truly let her in. He had dropped out of college after half a semester of pre-law undergraduate work. He hadn't been able to do it. Maybe if he had been allowed to major in Marine Biology like he had truly wanted to…

No, he took the trust fund money his grandfather had left him and moved to California, learning to work with whales. Now he was taking a random class or two to get back into the swing of college, so he could finally get his degree.

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Is it about the rangers?"

That question had been pointless and both of them knew that. Kelsey seemed to see the others all the time—she and Dana did things together and, consequently, she saw Carter and Ryan. Joel stopped by occasionally with Angela, but he always seemed to be at work or class or… somewhere else. He hadn't seen or spoken to any of them in a long time.

"It might be," he replied evasively. "Look," he continued, adding a comb and some toothpaste to the bag. "I'll call you when I get there."

"Where?"

"I'll tell you when I get there."

That hurt look in her blue-gray eyes ate at his heart. He wanted to be able to tell her where he was going and what was going on, but he didn't know either. God, she had been there for him through hard times and… he did love her, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead he went to work, class, hiding from the world…

"Chad?"

"Kelsey, I—"

"Don't say it. Just, be careful."

Her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked like she was fighting to keep her composure. He didn't blame her, but there was nothing more he could say. He just left, hoping he found what he was looking for before time ran out.

* * *

Sky sat on the porch outside the main building. The porch was long, wrapping around two sides of the building and housing various benches and chairs. This was the hang-out spot for the students, before and after classes. Sometimes classes met in a garden or teachers went there to talk. But it seemed that all the serious social activity happened on the porch. He had read somewhere a long time ago that society needed more porches—something about encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors and their neighbors.

He planted his feet on the floor, absently flipping open his lighter, striking it and extinguishing the flame—all in one fluid motion. If nothing else, he had gotten good at that in the week that he'd been at the academy. Well, less than a week… and the Wind Ninja Academy had begun to feel like home, more so than SPD ever did. He found that feeling strange and disconcerting. For so long he had aspired to SPD, but he had never considered it home. Home was his mother's house in the suburbs of Newtech City.

"Hot chocolate?"

Ethan was carefully walking along the porch, balancing two mugs of hot chocolate, one in each hand, and holding a bag of cookies under his chin. "Midnight snack?" Sky asked mildly, taking the bag of cookies and a mug so Ethan could sit down.

"It's not midnight," was the reply. "I believe Conner would have referred to this as a munchie run." Ethan shrugged. "But I never try to figure out Conner."

Sky smiled slightly, remembering Conner from his brief stint in 2025. The Red Dino Ranger had seemed level-headed, loyal to a fault, but also distinctly individual. It was clear that he and Ethan were close friends, but neither would admit to that. It reminded him of Bridge and himself. Bridge might have loudly professed their friendship, but Sky wouldn't have, just like he couldn't articulate anything regarding Syd.

"Why are you guys hiding on the porch?"

Tori came towards them, holding her own mug of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows. She perched on a low folding chair across from their bench. "What is it with you guys and the junk food?" Sky muttered.

"Don't talk to me about junk food," Tori said with a grin. "Talk to Dustin—he's the junk food master around here."

Sky let out a long breath. It was rare that he and the other SPD Rangers spent an evening together like this, just sitting around and talking. Granted, their schedules were sometimes unpredictable, but they had always been encouraged to function as a team, a unit, but never encouraged to become friends. He supposed that friendship was the natural outcome to getting to know another person, but he didn't believe that was absolute.

"By the way," Ethan said, elbowing Sky. "Nice bonfire this afternoon."

"Thanks," he said dryly.

"Yeah, I don't think Sensei was expecting that," Tori replied, smiling into her mug.

"He's the Human Torch!" Ethan ribbed.

Sky rolled his eyes. "Shut-up," he retorted. "I'm not the one that made a sculpture out of dirt and then named it."

"At least Mr. McFluggster had a sense of humor," Ethan replied delicately.

It was hard, being here and still not being sure what their purpose was. Sensei kept telling them to be patient, but patience never had been a strong suit of his, Sky reflected. Air and moonlight had to come. He hoped they'd arrive soon.

Until then, he'd enjoy the hot chocolate and the companionship.

_To be continued..._


	9. Searching Starlight I

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

_Trains move quickly to the journey's end  
Destinations are where we begin again  
Ships go sailing far across the sea  
Trusting starlight to get where they need to be_

**Chapter Nine: Searching Starlight I**

Billy let out a long breath as he shouldered his bag and the knapsack of supplies. The ship had an autopilot that would take it back to Aquitar, as leaving it in the woods would undoubtedly cause problems. The autopilot would take off in ten minutes. He double-checked his bags to make sure he hadn't left something. Setting his face in a grimace, he turned from the ship and headed into the woods.

There were a lot of smaller cities clustered around Angel Grove, along with acres of wooded land. He had seen three kids and was convinced that he would find them. For the Aquitarians, that was enough. For the people he had left behind on Earth, nothing was reason enough. There were people in Angel Grove that he could see—his father, for instance. But a part of him was not ready to face the past. He had spent the past nine years on another planet for that very fact.

But he had built a new family on Aquitar. Aurico had become his closest friend, exchanging wisdom, a chess game, a glass of mead… He had seemed to understand that Billy needed to distance himself from the ranger situation on Earth before he could make a rational sense of what had happened to him. Cestria had started out as his lover, but soon became another close friend. She knew so much about him, being the one to come to Earth and take him to Aquitar. He owed her his life, his sanity… there was nothing he could say or do to repay what she had done for him.

He pulled a tracking device from his knapsack and turned it on. The humming and beeping assured him that the device was in working order. This particular tracker was like many on Aquitar, but specialized to track life forces. He had fine tuned this one himself to track human life forces. No one was around him in the woods.

The breeze blew quickly, pushing his longish hair from his forehead. That was coming from the south.

_Of the radiant southern sun…_

The snippet came back to him. He was not sure where he had heard it before, but it seemed apt. The sun was high in the clear blue sky, shining through the trees in a way that he hadn't seen in nine years. The sun rose and set on Aquitar as it did here, but the planet was mostly water, causing a glare. Most of the Aquitarians lived in underwater cities, so they could be protected from the sun and swim as they pleased.

Starting down an unknown path, he let out a long breath, remembering too much. Aurico had come back from a Red Ranger mission to Earth's moon. Most of the names and teams were foreign to him. He had left Earth before Divatox captured Zordon, before Zordon was destroyed to save the Earth. But there were two amongst the ten that participated who he remembered… remembered them all too well. The crushing disappointment when he realized that he could not wield the gold powers… the sickening feeling when he saw those two together again, the close friends as they had been before, working in tandem as though nothing had changed…

But he knew differently.

Everything had changed.

He had been the one left behind, while the others continued forward. Circumstances had conspired against him. Graduating from high school early so that he couldn't interact with the others in their normal social setting, giving his Zeo crystal to Tanya and then being unable to hold the gold power… that all ended with him going to Aquitar. Now, he was not so sure that Cestria had loved him, as she had known he needed to leave. She was wise… far wiser than he would ever be.

Well, Aurico had told him what happened after he left Earth. The others had graduated from high school, passing on their ranger powers and doing different things. Some went to school, others went to a career. Not that it really mattered. None of them had tried to contact him once he left for Aquitar. There was really nothing left to say or do. He had grown up and apart from them. Besides, he wasn't sure that high school was the best thing in the world to be reminiscing about constantly. But it was his only point of reference on Earth… and being a Power Ranger tends to tie people together more effectively than any fleeting high school friendship or clique.

The woods were peaceful. The birds chirped as he stomped through the brush. He seemed to spend a lot of time in forests, but that particular scenery never appealed to him. He had always preferred the ocean, but not water for the longest time.

And then there were his dreams…

Trini had been alive in them. That scared him. Most people didn't know it, but he had gone to her funeral, come to Earth… He had stood in the back of the church, watching as the friends and family filed past the open coffin. No one recognized him with his long hair and goatee. At least no one from high school would expect him to look so unkempt. He had forced himself to walk past the coffin, to gaze at her one last time. Apparently she hadn't suffered any head injuries, because she looked much as he remembered… except older and all the more beautiful. He hadn't stayed for the burial or the reception.

He hadn't harbored any illusions that a high school crush would blossom after so many years, but her funeral had marked how unspoken words haunted him.

_For all I should have said and didn't say…_

_For all I should have done and didn't do…_

_For all I should have thought and didn't think…_

It didn't matter if he had a stupid high school crush, because nothing could be spoken now. After she left for Geneva, letters and e-mails had dwindled to nothing and he lost contact with his childhood best friend. Sure, he had other friends, people who were just as important, but nothing could replace the girl who, in second grade, beat up the class bullies that had stolen his glasses.

Trini… moonlight… a tiger…

If any of that made sense, he probably wouldn't be wandering through the woods. A voice had asked him if he could awaken the moonlight. Gods, he hoped he found what he was looking for and hoped that he'd get some answers soon.

His tracker began to beep. Each beep meant that there was a life signal close. The closer to got, the louder and more frequent the beep would become. He kept forward, the tinny noise getting shriller. Good, that meant that he was close to finding someone.

But the closer he got, he didn't see anyone. There should have been people all around him, but he didn't see anyone. What was going on? Had his tracker been damaged? He had repaired it before getting on the ship—it should have been working. What was happening to him now that he couldn't identify?

* * *

Tori let out a long breath, leaning against the tree branch. She was not sure what compelled her to take Dustin's watch shift, especially since she had homework to do and was no longer on the official rotation. But Dustin had said that he needed to "train" Ethan, which probably meant that they were going to the library to play video games. A part of her hoped that Cam would find them and lay down the law. Another part of her wouldn't wish that on anyone.

There were some other students on watch. At least one of them was a member of the academy guard—the official security for the school. One of them was on duty at all times and stopped people who didn't know the password. She had been a teacher and was kept informed of password changes. Mostly, they didn't bother teachers unless something felt off. The guard member on duty was usually the person running around the woods on horseback, since the horses were their exclusive domain.

She really needed to be working on her paper. The students and the guard could handle this shift. No one seemed to be forthcoming. Besides, Sensei had always maintained that they needed to attend to their schoolwork as carefully as their ninja studies.

"Sensei!"

Snapping to attention at the formal teacher's title, she glanced to the student that had called. He pointed to a lone traveler through the woods. Tori frowned. He had longish, sandy blonde hair that was in a ponytail and a goatee. He was wearing blue jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. Some type of scanner was out and he had a knapsack on his back with a bag slung over his shoulder. Something about him was vaguely familiar…

Tori motioned to the student that she'd handle it. She jumped from the tree, landing lightly on the ground. The man looked from his scanner to her, one eyebrow arching.

"I knew this thing wasn't broken," he muttered.

His blue-gray eyes studied her for a moment, comprehending and remembering. He shut off his scanner, the beeping going away. Tori closed her eyes for a minute, studying him. There was something about ninjas, like singing to like. Generally, a ninja master could sense the ninja spirit in another and tell what element they sang to. This guy was definitely a ninja, but he didn't sing to air, earth or water. And he wasn't the fire ninja…

"Are you the moonlight ninja?" she asked.

"I don't know about 'ninja', but moonlight, yes." He paused. "You're Tori, aren't you?"

"Yes." She stared at him for a moment. "Who are you?"

That caused a split second's confusion in his eyes. "Cranston," he replied finally. "William Cranston. Cestria called me Will, others have called me Billy." He shrugged. "I'll pretty much answer to anything except, 'hey you.'"

She wanted to ask who Cestria was, but kept the question in check. He had just gotten here—on foot from the looks of things. He didn't strike her as a 'William' or 'Will.' In fact, the name 'Billy' seemed to most natural to him. He looked a lot like her more free-spirited professors—intelligent and highly educated, but kind of absent-minded at the same time. Billy… the puerile name fit him perfectly. It didn't demean him—in fact, it gave him character. Almost like having an Uncle Timmy…

"Billy, then," she said. He looked a little startled. "You've found the Wind Ninja Academy." She motioned down the rough path. "The building isn't far from here."

"Ninja academy?"

She nodded, heading down the path. He followed her, putting the scanner in his shoulder bag. It made her wonder where he had been. "So," she asked slowly. "Where are you from?"

"Angel Grove."

"Oh. That's not too far from here."

"I know."

She had a feeling that he hadn't been living in Angel Grove prior to this meeting, but he wasn't offering any information. God, she wished Ethan were here—he was the one that had all the information on previous ranger teams. He might be able to shed a little light on the elusive Mr. Cranston who was from Angel Grove. The lake and waterfall came into sight. Billy was looking around, like he was drinking in his surroundings.

"The portal's just in front of the waterfall?"

"We have to swim?"

"Not exactly."

He looked, well, not overly enthused about the idea of water, but that he'd do what he had to. Indifferent… that how he looked to the concept of water or swimming. She held out a hand to him. Eyes narrowing, he took her hand, then his eyes widened in surprise. Tori knew the feeling—she had felt that the first time someone helped her over the lake.

In a few moments, they were standing on the bluff.

"I've been here before," he said softly.

"In dreams?" she asked.

"Yes… the practice field, except it was night."

"Listen, Billy," she said as they stood on the bluff, watching an air class go through their katas below. "You're a ninja now. You're welcome here at any time and all our resources are here for your use."

"That'd be nice," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. "Especially since I don't have a place on Earth to stay."

So he'd been off planet. That made a little more sense. But which planet? There were very few that were open for Earth colonists and the screening procedures were tough. Most people didn't meet the requirements. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Which planet?"

"Aquitar."

Her heart froze. No one got onto Aquitar from any other planet. They welcomed visitors, but no one stayed there very long. She didn't know anything about him, but that said something about his relationship with the Aquitarians.

"Tori!"

Ethan jumped down from a tree and jogged towards them. His eyes landed on Billy and lit up. "Billy Cranston! Oh my God! This is an honor!" Ethan paused as he began pumping his hand. "The original Blue Ranger on Earth!" He paused again. "Sky will so want to meet you! They have these crazy ranger history classes at SPD."

Everyone was spared from explaining Sky, when the Blue Ranger from the future, himself, appeared, strolling along the bluff, and a bundle of firewood under one arm. His reaction was much the same as Ethan's, but more subdued and respectful. Billy, for his part, looked a little embarrassed at the attention, but also a bit pleased.

Tori frowned. What had happened to him?

* * *

Rain pattered softly on the roof. Distant rolls of thunder rumbled the building, but he had yet to see any lightening. Billy let out a long breath, slowly taking things out of his bags. Kanoi—the head teacher around here—had given him a guest room. His new quarters happened to be next door to the room that Sky was inhabiting. However, Sky was not in his room nor was he anywhere else that Billy could fathom. In fact, he didn't know where the three "kids" were. No one had been in the library or the kitchen and he highly doubted that they would be outside in the rain. Well… they might.

He didn't have a lot of clothing or, at least, clothing that would blend in on Earth. All he had brought with him fit in one dresser drawer. His laptop and other equipment, he set on a small table, although he wasn't sure how he'd power it, since all the power was in the bathroom. He supposed he could go into town and get some extension cords or just set up camp in the library. He had called his banks earlier to check his accounts—he had saved up a couple thousand dollars his last year on Earth. He'd be solvent enough to get established on Earth. First thing was to go down to the local DPS and renew his driver's license.

But he needed a permanent address to do that…

With a frustrated growl, he sank down onto his bed. He raked his hands through his hair. The few personal items from his shoulder bag were spread on the comforter. Letters and pictures spilled out of a rubber band. The few mementoes—gag gifts—were clustered together. Reaching out, he picked up a tiny rubber dinosaur—a triceratops. Kim had done that their freshman year of high school and had gone through several bags at the dollar store, looking for just the right figures. There was a unicorn that, when one put it in the fridge, turned from pink to purple. The small wolf stuffed animal had been another dollar store venture, but, this time, from Aisha. It never failed to amaze him how obsessed they had been with their ranger powers.

And no one ever guessed…

There were times when he wondered why their parents never suspected anything. The excuse of 'oh, I'm going to so-and-so's house to study' must have worn through. Their parents had to have cross-checked at some point in time. Either their parents had trusted them too much to mind or they had all figured out that they were Power Rangers. It almost made him want to go to Angel Grove and talk with his father. Then again, his father thought he was abroad.

He put down the rubber triceratops and picked up the fan. It was yellow paper and rather cheap—a party favor mothers bought for little kids. He had gotten it for Trini's ninth birthday party in third grade—the only boy at the party. For whatever weird reason, it had reminded him of Trini—and there was probably some deeply embedded socio-cultural racist reason for it, but he had stopped trying to analyze himself a long time ago. Trini had given him the fan and that was all that mattered.

"You are so dead!"

The shouted statement was punctuated by a splattering noise and a shriek. Dropping the fan, he stood up and went to the doors to his balcony. He pulled back the screens and the noise of the rain intensified. It was raining straight down, so he could open the doors and nothing inside would get wet.

Tori was standing in the middle of the practice field, soaked and muddy, looking like she was about to fend off another attack.

"Ethan!" she called. "Stop hiding!"

Everything was still for a few moments while Tori looked around before Ethan, literally, appeared out of nowhere and pelted her with a mud cake. She sputtered indignantly, before retaliating with a mud cake of her own. It missed Ethan by a few inches. "You throw like a girl!" he taunted, backing away.

"You are a girl!" Tori retorted.

"You are so going down like that dude from Detonation Man!"

Billy didn't hear the rest of the conversation—he shut the screens again, his gaze turning to the collection of items on the bed. The locket stood out amongst the cheap claptrap from parties. Cestria had given him that locket, but she hadn't put pictures in it. She had said he needed to put the people closest to his heart in it. He had spent so much time on Aquitar and distanced himself… well, Aurico and Cestria were close to him.

He smiled remembering the Spring Solstice on Aquitar. It was a yearly celebration—the largest on the planet, akin to Christmas on Earth. Cestria had pressed the locket in his hand, the silver, iridescent metal shining under the afternoon sun. Aquitarians had been flipping out of the water in elaborate formations, a smattering of applause following each stunt. In the evening, banquet tables were placed on the docks and people ate and drank until the sun came up. There was usually a fireworks display to go with dinner—something they had picked up from Earth that amused them.

Sitting on a dock that night, shivering from the cool night air, he had just enjoyed being with Cestria. She never forced him to speak. That had been the popular method—when he had still been on Earth—for others to find out what was wrong. Cestria just let the silence be, knowing he would talk when he was ready. Some things, he would never be ready to talk about. She knew that, respected that…

_William… you love more than life itself, but you also hate to the bitter end. Let go of that hatred, that anger… it can only free your spirit…_

Her words… she had truly known him better than he knew himself.

With a frustrated sigh, he reached into his bag, pulling out a crumpled and half-empty pack of Marlboros. He had never been much of a smoker—a bad habit he had picked up on Aquitar, but it seemed regulated to stress. Cigarettes were one of the few Earth imports that Aquitarians allowed, but also asked people to smoke is designated areas only. He didn't have a lighter—the one thing he had left behind.

Leaving his room and walking downstairs, he ran into no one. That suited him right now. The fountain in the entrance area burbled happily as rain continued to spatter on the roof. Dim blue light from the clouds filled the area. He looked towards the front doors—one was propped open and a lone figure stood on the porch, watching the mud fight.

"Got a light?"

Sky looked startled at being addressed, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. Billy motioned to the cigarettes. "You mind?" The other man shook his head. He extracted one stick from the pack. Balancing it between his lips, he cupped the flame and lit it.

"Smoke a lot?"

He gave Sky an appraising look, tossing his lighter back to him. "It's a nervous habit."

Another shriek from Tori found both of them turning towards the field. Ethan and Tori were covered in mud, but looked like the best of friends, having the time of their lives. Sky looked a little depressed at the sight. "Not going out there?"

"I don't like mud."

Billy knew that, once, he had that kind of friendship and knew what Sky was feeling.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Continued thanks to all my reviewers and readers... and remember, "Be orderly and regular in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work." 


	10. Searching Starlight II

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Ten: Searching Starlight II**

The world whipped past as he leaned his head against the window of the bus. Everything seemed so peaceful and surreal, going by so fast. He didn't have time to analyze the bad things—the things that made him think that life was one cruel joke. Sometimes, sitting at the edge of the pool or on the stand at the beach, the world just looked so beautiful… he couldn't reconcile his ideas of the world anymore than he could reconcile the shattered pieces of his life.

Shattered… like a mirror… His father pulled him in one direction, while his older brother urged him to go to law school and join his firm. Being a ranger and his friends from that time tugged him in another and Kelsey… no, she didn't demand anything from him, except that he offer reasons and be rational. Not that she was over-rational at times. A faint smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. He just wanted… what did he want? He wanted to go on a boat trip to the Caribbean and go scuba-diving to see the fish.

Chad closed his eyes, feeling the vibrating window and the bumping bus.

It wasn't that things hadn't worked out quite like he wanted. In the end, he had done what he had wanted, even if it meant an awful, gnawing feeling about not speaking to his father any more. Perhaps… he wanted to think that his family would lend an ear to listen when he explained what he truly wanted to do. Listening… that was an activity that he seemed to do well. He never asserted himself, just watched others and life go on. Dana had once told him that he was really empathetic and in touch with himself. Sometimes he wondered about that…

God Dana… the others…

The first time in his life he had felt really happy had been as a ranger at Lightspeed. He had actually been _doing_ something for others. Sure, working at the water park and doing tricks with the whales had given him a fleeting sense of appreciation and acknowledgement, but to save people from demons? That had been exhilarating. There was something about knowing that the people in Mariner Bay depended on him that made him feel… he couldn't quite pin down a word for it. Courageous? Appreciated?

He grinned, remembering when he had tried to show Kelsey tai bo—his grandfather had set up trust funds for him and his brother. Before his death, his grandfather had told them to use the money on what they wanted when they turned eighteen. After dropping out of college, he had used some of the money to support himself for a little bit while studying tai bo and traveling. That had been a good time—doing what he wanted, when he wanted.

The bus ground to a halt, the brakes hissing.

Chad picked up his backpack, slinging it on one shoulder and leaving the bus. The driver was smiling and thanking all of them. He vaguely returned the smile, stepping off the bus into a light rain. Skies were gray and the rain pattered over the metal roof of the bus stop. He looked around. Life seemed to have slowed down to compensate for the weather. Glancing around, he searched for a map or sign to tell him where he was, why he had just gotten off the bus.

A large sign over the ticket kiosk read, 'Welcome to Blue Bay Harbor.'

Blue Bay Harbor? That was ironic. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder, moving towards a large street map of the town. The place wasn't very large as a beach was marked along with a forest and "downtown." He thought for a moment—the forest would probably be his best bet as most of his dreams had taken place on a bluff with a forest behind him. The others and the hawk had come out of the forest, hadn't they?

Slipping his other arm into his backpack and wishing he had brought an umbrella or a poncho, he stepped out of the bus station and into the rain. The streets, like the station, were moving slowly, devoid of the bustling of a city. This place seemed small enough to fall into the rhythm that the weather set.

Going down what must have been a main street, he passed a bakery, a handful of restaurants and a shop called "Storm Chargers." There had been a little sandwich shop in Mariner Bay that he and the others frequented—Delectable's. It brought back memories of Friday afternoons away from training where they could just be friends, not rangers. There was always a vague, subconscious thought that the demons might decide to attack and they had interrupted a few lunches, but, for the most part, all he remembered was laughing and having fun. Joel always told jokes and flirted with their waitress, while Carter would roll his eyes and shoot Dana looks when he thought no one else was paying attention. Chad had always had to make sure Kelsey didn't knock anything over.

Two guys were sitting on a bench, under the overhang at Storm Chargers. One was wearing a yellow t-shirt, while the other had on a maroon shirt. They weren't doing anything, just watching the rain. Both looked up as he passed and the yellow shirt guy waved. He returned the wave, continuing to trudge forward.

"Hey man! Where you headed?"

Chad turned back. The yellow shirt guy had stood up and was looking at him expectantly. How to answer where he was headed? He wasn't even sure of that. "I'm not entirely sure," he replied.

"Maybe I can help," the guy offered enthusiastically. "I know this town like the back of my hand!" His companion just rolled his eyes.

Chad almost had to laugh—they just assumed that he was lost. "Thanks," he called. "But I'll find it eventually."

"Can we drop you off somewhere? I mean, with the rain and all…"

He walked over to them. "I appreciate the offer…"

"Really, it's no big deal! Hunter's truck is just around back!" The guy in the yellow shirt slapped his companion on the back. Hunter looked less than pleased at his truck being offered up, but wasn't vocalizing anything. "What are you looking for?"

There was no escaping this guy. "I think it's a school."

"Well, there's Blue Bay Harbor High School a couple blocks from here." He paused. "Then there're the junior highs and elementary schools…"

"It's more like a boarding school."

The two guys looked truly stumped. "There's not a boarding school around here, man," Hunter said. "There's a magnet school for the arts just outside town."

"Wooded area? There's a practice field. I think it might be a martial arts place."

"Dude… are you a ninja?"

"Dustin!" Hunter shot him a warning look.

"What?" Dustin squawked. "He's a ninja! If you'd concentrate for a minute, you'd be able to sense it too!"

Chad watched a look pass between the two. Both of them knew something that he didn't and, for whatever reason, he felt a strange sense of kinship between himself and them. Dustin was staring at him. He knew… this total stranger knew. "I can take you to Tori," he was saying. "She'll know what to do."

Tori… the name from his dream…

* * *

A gong sounded from somewhere deep within the building. Sky straightened momentarily, pulling the wristwatch from his pocket and checking the time. It was noon. Billy merely raised an eyebrow as he took one last drag on the cigarette. Someone had placed an ashtray out here shortly after Billy arrived that morning—Sky really wanted to know how Kanoi did that. Cigarette smoke didn't bother him, having spent a lot of free time helping to interrogate criminals, most of whom smoked. He preferred pipe smoke—it was sweet and not as acrid. He had an uncle on his father's side of the family who smoked a pipe…

"I'm guessing that gong meant something," Billy commented, grinding out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

"Lunch time," he replied simply.

"Oh, that was the buffet in the main dining room." It wasn't a question.

Sky nodded, the sound of students clamoring inside. There weren't many here, considering that it was a weekend. A few members of the academy guard had been taking their turn feeding and grooming the horses, while some air students were doing some of their extra hours. For what, Sky didn't know.

He hadn't been here long, but he found that the ninja academy, during the week when all the classes were going on, didn't bother him. It was simply like SPD, where cadets and officers zoomed around, going about their daily business. The weekends weren't peaceful as Ethan and Tori spent the whole weekend here, helping with research and training. He gave Billy a sidelong glance—the other ranger had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. Not that any of them had any idea when this insane scheme started.

"Yeah," he replied, although he didn't need to.

"What do they serve?"

"Sandwiches."

Billy shrugged, pale blue eyes focused on the horizon. "They don't tend to eat sandwiches on Aquitar. Everything is either liquid or really hard. Stuff like bread goes bad almost immediately there."

"Really?"

"Really." The original Blue Ranger turned to him. "You've never been off planet?"

"Just for SPD business—interrogating criminals and things like that."

"Huh," Billy snorted. "I didn't know SPD had grown that much."

"It hasn't—I'm from the future."

"Well, that's awkward."

They lapsed into a silence. Tori and Ethan must have gone inside through one of the many side doors in the building. Wouldn't surprise him—Kanoi would insist that they clean up before coming into the dining room. The rain continued, keeping a steady pattering against the earth. While it didn't bother him to be in the rain or to shower, he felt uneasy around something that could so effectively wipe out his element. The others could still conjure their elements in the rain and, he supposed, that he could as well, but it was a little overwhelming. The one exception was Billy—he didn't see how moonlight could be called during the day.

"Dudes!"

He turned to see Dustin tramping along the edge of the practice field, dragging someone Sky vaguely recognized from history lessons and a blonde guy that he knew was the head teacher at the neighboring Thunder Ninja Academy.

"This is Chad!" Dustin called, motioning to the unknown guy. "I think he's looking for you guys!" Chad's face held a neutral expression, but Sky knew the hidden impulse to tell Dustin to shut-up when he saw it.

Billy gave Sky a sidelong look. He shrugged. "Maybe he's the air ninja," he suggested.

"That makes sense."

The trio came onto the porch, all looking wet and bedraggled. "Chad Lee," the guy introduced himself.

"Sky Tate," he responded. "And this is Billy Cranston."

"Pleasure," Billy said dryly.

"Have you had dreams—"

"—About a hawk and someone calling me an air ninja and all of you? Yes."

They fell into a silence. Someone was clattering just inside the door, before Tori burst onto the porch, using a towel to get the worst of the mud off. "Hey, are you guys going to eat lunch or sit out here all day…" She trailed off as she saw Chad. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chad." Sky bit his tongue, knowing that Chad would have to explain himself yet again when Ethan appeared.

"Air ninja?"

Chad nodded. "I'm Tori," she replied. "We're just about to have lunch. Maybe you can explain why Billy and Sky are still standing on the porch."

"I don't know—I just got here."

"Oh well… why are you two standing on the porch?"

Sky fought a smirk as Billy shoved the crumpled partial pack of cigarettes into his pocket. The original Blue Ranger just shrugged, clearing his throat. "We were just coming in," he replied, clapping Sky's shoulder and steering him into the building.

Ethan was inside. "Hey, what are you—"

"Chad's out there," Billy said, over his shoulder. "He's the air ninja. Just introduce yourself and spare him having to introduce himself again."

"Nice subterfuge."

"Hell, I have no idea what's going on, but him being the air ninja seemed to be significant, so I went with it." He paused. "Basic deception."

"Use what's there and don't elaborate."

"Exactly and if you do have to elaborate, keep it simple."

Sky snorted as they headed into the dining room. There was a small line of students near the buffet, making their own sandwiches and salads. Kanoi nodded at them as they entered. Cam and Shane—the air teacher—were already eating and discussing something. Sky assumed that Tori and Ethan would bring Chad in here.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the other three appeared with Dustin in tow. (Hunter must have decided he needed to do something at the Thunder Academy.) Chad looked kind of surprised at the situation and more than a little puzzled. Sky just shook his head. They were all, still, confused about what was going on.

* * *

Chad sat on the end of his bed. For the size of this place, he shouldn't have been surprised that each guest room was large and had a private bathroom. Kanoi had said that, as ninja, all of them had the resources of the Wind Ninja Academy at their disposal. He wasn't sure what that had meant, but Tori had explained that each of them were ninjas, singing to a different element. The ninjas had stopped communing with the Faerie—the moonlight—and most of the fire ninjas had fallen to the Shadow. Apparently, that meant an imbalance of the elements.

His room was close to the rooms that Sky and Billy had. Their fledging bond had been entertaining—the fire ninja and the smoker. Well, Billy was the moonlight ninja—had spent all afternoon telling Cam off for his networking methods. Chad had gotten settled and dried his clothes (the washer and dryer were in the kitchen) and made the inevitable phone call to Kelsey. She had sounded distant, guarded, but happy that he was safe.

"Need to go into town tomorrow," Billy's voice came from the hall.

"To get more cigarettes?" Sky asked.

"No, because if I buy more it'll just be temptation." There was a pause. "I need to find a computer store and pick up some stuff."

"Hacking into stuff?"

"Jesus Christ, you are suspicious about everything. It's so I can organize the database and have it accessible from remote computers."

"Oh, so Ethan and Tori can access it in Reefside?"

"You catch on fast—I'm going outside for a bit. Coming?"

"I'll be down in a minute."

Footsteps echoed down the hall. For a minute, he felt himself sag in relief. He wasn't sure that he was ready to face these guys. Supposedly, Billy had only been here since this morning, but the other Blue Ranger appeared to be staunch in his purpose as well as his cynicism. But that moment was over when a loud knock came on his door. He visibly jumped, before sliding off his bed and opening the door.

Sky was standing out there, wearing jeans and a blue button-up shirt. "Hey," he said, the forced casual tone prominent. "Uh… we were just going to be on the porch, having some hot chocolate before we turned in. Want to come?" Chad blinked, not sure how to reply. "Or I can drag everyone up here," Sky added quickly. "Well, Billy once he's done smoking."

For someone who seemed so standoffish, Sky seemed to genuinely have a knack for communicating with others or maybe it was just his bizarre bonding with Billy. Whatever the case, Chad found his room invaded by four other people, bearing hot chocolate and smelling faintly of cigarettes. After some mindless chatter, Ethan finally said what was probably on everyone's mind.

"We're all here now… maybe we should try another collective dream."

Tori nodded, looking a little doubtful. "I'm not sure I can bring all of you into the dream, but I can try." She paused. "We'll all have different access points when we enter. It may take a few minutes to find each other."

"Maybe we should establish where everyone else will be entering?" Sky suggested.

Chad listened as the others named their "access points" or, in Billy's and his case, what they assumed would be their access points. Tori would be by the pool outside the portal, while Ethan was in the woods beyond the portal. Chad was pretty much convinced his would be the bluff just beyond the portal. Billy was in the practice field and Sky was in his guest room in the actual building.

Trying to get comfortable with four other people on his bed, Chad realized that their placement in proximity to the school couldn't be a coincidence, from what the others had said. Billy was in the practice field just adjacent to the school—and his element lay sleeping. Sky was inside the building—his element had fallen to the Shadow. He, Tori and Ethan were all further away because their elements were still sung to, ninjas were trained to manipulate those elements. But he felt sleep overtake him before he could vocalize that…

_Gray, morning light filled the horizon. Chad sat up, realizing that he was lying on the bluff that overlooked the school. Dawn had not yet broken and the thin, sliver of the moon was still visible. He pushed himself to his feet, absently dusting grass from his leather uniform. The yellow trim was the same as from the earlier dreams. He could see Billy in the practice field, looking up towards him._

_Rustling came from the trees behind him. Turning, he saw Ethan and Tori stumble onto the bluff. Ethan was wearing a uniform identical to his, except with green trim. Tori had on a blue uniform, the feminine version. He knew now that the uniforms were for the Wind Ninja Academy, but their colors were the ancient colors, not the ones used now. "Sky will be in the building," Tori said. "We'll meet him there."_

_The three of them descended from the bluff. Billy joined them at the entrance to the school. His uniform was the same, except it had white trim. It made Chad wonder if the moonlight had ever been trained as a formal element. Sky was waiting for them just inside the entrance. Everything looked dim and eerie in the pre-dawn light._

"_She wasn't there."_

"_Who?"_

_The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Billy looked like he had been about to ask the same thing. The pair of them had been given a lot of information in a short time and Chad knew he didn't have things straight right now._

"_Princess Shayla," Ethan supplied. "We can here in a collective dream earlier and she was asleep in one of the guest rooms."_

"_She was the princess of ancient Animaria," Tori picked up. "The other group that communed with the Faerie."_

"_Okay…" Billy sounded skeptical._

"_Rangers."_

_All of them turned. While nothing was going to attack them in a dream, they landed into defensive positions anyways. Chad felt himself relax when he took in the slender woman before them. She was wearing a white dress and had long brown hair. He supposed that she was the one that Ethan, Tori and Sky had been talking about._

"_Greetings," she said with a smile. "I'm Princess Shayla."_

"_You're three thousand years old," Billy commented._

"_Have faith, Tiger," she said gently. "You, of all, should realize that things are not always as they seem." She paused. "I will be able to join you in the flesh soon. I will explain all things when we are united in waking as well as dreams." Her tone turned serious and grave. "The earth and it's ancient enchantments are falling into chaos. You are the chosen ones—your animal spirits will protect and guide you. Goodbye. We will meet soon."_

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Been a while... here I am! Thank you to readers and reviewers. People seem to have been dropping like flies lately, but must finals and final papers and all that jazz. I know it's kicking my rear. Blargh! Well, review or not as time permits -- and don't let finals completely and totally massacre you. 


	11. Searching Starlight III

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything you recognize.

**CHANGING THE STARS**

By Etcetera Kit

**Chapter Eleven: Searching Starlight III**

_It is time…_

She smiled, raising her face to the warm sun. The five had come together—the time had come for them to know their calling, know what they were up against. The animal spirits had gathered in the field before her, as their humans were sleeping. Her gaze went from the bear—the largest and most fearsome—to the turtle—the smallest. The five had to learn to use their animal spirits, both as protectors and pieces of themselves. The wolf and the tiger stood serenely, side by side, already acknowledging the kinship between their humans. The hawk flew amongst the trees above them, a joyful shriek being heard every few moments.

_Souls hesitant of attachment…_

_Who was it shouted with joy when blue was born?_

_Princess,_ the tiger said, stepping forward. _We are prepared. We will do what we must._

"I know," she replied, a sad smile on her face. "They have a long journey to make and time is growing short."

_They already feel the lost time._

"Their elements are warning them—there is still time to train them. As the moonlight is awakened and the fire is brought to the Light, they will feel the balance regain."

_But that is not all._

"No, it's not." She turned to the wolf. "You know what to do if the worst should happen," she said softly. "You have protected many… you know where to find the ancient warrior?"

The wolf inclined his head towards her. _Yes, Princess._

"He will help you." She let out a long breath, hoping that it would not come to that. Merrick—the ancient warrior, the lunar wolf—he would know what to do if the five could not succeed, if the chaos shattered the fragile magic. There was another way, but it was a dark road of destruction, not the healing balm that the five could offer. "I must descend to the earth," she continued.

The protectors fell into a bow. Holding out her hands, five animal crystals appeared there. While the animal spirits dwelt with their humans, the crystals were the ultimate attachment. For an animal to bestow his crystal on a human was the bond that kept them together for life or until the crystal was passed on. The five animals disappeared, to rejoin their humans on the earth below. She stared at their spot in the meadow for a moment. This had to work—they were the last and only hope.

Closing her eyes, she saw the five, gathered around a breakfast table. Most were eating. Wolf was pushing food around on his plate, while Tiger paced, cup of coffee in hand. The trust and friendship would come, but it would be slow. So many of them were afraid of losing those dear to them, afraid of unspoken words and afraid of… living.

The Animarium was her home, her sanctuary. She had not left it in many years. During the latest org uprising, she had only left a handful of times—most were related to Merrick, but the other was due to the orgs. The orgs were gone, defeated… She had nothing to fear, except for the five and the earth. If they failed, Merrick would do what had to be done. He was familiar with the twisted roads of evil and madness. He wouldn't rise from that madness, but the earth would be saved. No…

She couldn't think of that. The five had just met. They had fledging control over their elements, most of them. They were slowly turning the pages… She still had some of her powers as a princess of Animaria. Opening her eyes, she concentrated on the specific geographical location that she had to find. The enchantments on the ninja school were similar to the ones the ancient warriors of Animaria used on their camps, concealing the locations from the orgs. The ninjas had extended the charm to include all who were not ninjas.

Unraveling the charm to gain access for just herself, she felt herself being transported from the Animarium to the bluff that overlooked the ninja school. It was still early morning, the sun had not yet come up. One person was awake in the fading moonlight. His haggard face showed signs of little or no sleep. He had just taken a drag on his cigarette, the smoke exhaling forcefully as his blue-gray eyes alighted on her.

_Tiger… I have come._

* * *

"Tate, out of bed! Now!"

Sky groaned as someone shook him forcefully awake. The light in his room was still gray, meaning that it wasn't time to get up. Rolling over, he took in Billy standing over his bed, looking like he hadn't slept at all. He picked up the travel clock. "It's five thirteen in the morning," he pointed out, his voice thick from sleep.

"I'm well aware of the time—get up."

"Why?"

"We have a breakfast guest."

"Ethan and Tori have class at eight today," he mumbled, pulling his blankets around his head and burying his face in his pillow.

"It's not them—it's the princess from last night."

"You lie."

"Generally, no, I don't lie. Get your ass out of bed." There was a pause. "Weren't you saying just yesterday that you had to get up at this hour for some of your shifts at SPD?"

Damn—when he was right, he was right. Sky sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and searching over the side of the bed for some of his abandoned clothes. He was getting into a bad routine here. Granted, he was still up by seven or eight, but five had been his usual wake-up time for years. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he thought he could accomplish at five in the morning that he couldn't accomplish at night.

"We'll be in the kitchen," Billy told him.

"You're putting a princess in the kitchen?" Sky called after him.

"Sue me!" came the retort as the door to his room was shut.

He sat in bed for a moment, blinking and trying to bring his mind into total awareness. A time frame for when he had to be in the kitchen hadn't been given—and he needed to shower and shave before thinking about going into public. Not that Billy cared. Chad wouldn't say anything, but it'd be polite. Throwing off the blankets and fighting a shiver, he got out of bed and padded across the semi-dark room to the bathroom.

Under the warm spray of the shower, he felt the grogginess leave him. So Chad and Billy had gotten here yesterday and both had managed to make lasting impression. Billy flat-out didn't seem to care. He was intelligent and willing to do work to find out what was happening to them, but interpersonal relationships were lost on him. One had to respond to his sarcasm and cynicism in the like to get him to take one seriously. That much was on the surface, although Sky suspected there was something more going on.

Chad, on the other hand, hadn't said much, looking almost lost. Something was going on there as well, but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to come up in a conversation over coffee, like something with Billy might. He had never been comfortable point-blank asking people what was bothering them—and hated it when people took that route with him. He'd talk eventually, when he didn't feel threatened. Time… this whole elemental thing meant they'd have to work together, probably more closely than they ever had with their original ranger teams. They'd all have to learn to open up more. Personally, that scared him.

Convinced that he was clean and didn't smell weird, he turned off the water, wrapped a towel around his waist and got out of the shower. Between brushing his teeth and shaving, he realized that this actually scared him more than not becoming Red Ranger, while, at the same time, it didn't.

Once he was dressed, he went downstairs to the kitchen. The building was dark—the only light and noise came from the kitchen. That much he expected. Kanoi and Cam might have been ninja masters, but before six in the morning was a little ridiculous, even for them. The smell of perking coffee hit him—God, he didn't know where SPD would be without the coffee stand they had in the common room every morning.

In the kitchen, Chad was taking toast out of the toaster. He looked like he was pretty with it at the ungodly hour. A woman with long brown hair, wearing a white dress, was seated at the island, politely sipping at a mug of tea.

"Good morning, Wolf," she said with a smile. "I'm Princess Shayla."

He blinked. She had used the animal he had seen in his dream. So far, in the collective dreams, none of the animals came into it. He wondered what, exactly, that meant. Chad shook his head slightly from the toaster as he spread jam over the toast. "Morning," Sky replied, not sure what else to say.

"Hawk was saying that he and Tiger arrived yesterday," the princess said in a pleasant tone, like making small talk over breakfast was perfectly natural.

Sky shot Chad a look as he moved to the coffee maker. The other Blue Ranger made a small flapping motion with his hands, and then pointed at himself. He nodded, grabbing a mug and pouring some coffee. So that meant that Chad was Hawk—and, by process of elimination, Billy was Tiger. Were the animals supposed to be some kind of extension of themselves? He could almost equate himself with a wolf, but the hawk and tiger were lost on him.

"Yeah," he replied shortly to her statement. _Where's Billy_, he mouthed at Chad. He held up an imaginary cigarette. Smoking… that explained that.

"You two don't have to do that," the princess said conversationally. "I know perfectly well what all the vices on Earth are. And I also know that you five are unaware of most of each other's animal spirits."

"Oh." For whatever reason, he felt like his mother was sitting in the kitchen. Granted, his mother would have probably smacked him for that. Chad just grinned and screwed the lid back onto the jelly jar.

"Hawk," she continued. "Who was the young lady you fancied from your dream?"

Chad, who had just sat down at the island, paused, looking like a deer caught between the headlights. Sky snickered into his coffee. "Oh…" he started. "That was Kelsey. We're dating… sort of."

"How can you 'sort of' be dating someone?"

The look Chad shot him clearly said to "shut-up." Sky joined them at the island. Having Princess Shayla around was going to be entertaining if she kept making comments like that, while sounding completely innocent.

* * *

Ethan held on for dear life as Tori careened the van around a corner. He was going to die—Tori was going to kill them before they got to the academy. The dirt roads to the academy's parking lot were already treacherous enough. Theoretically it would have been faster to ninja streak, but their automatic response had been to jump in the van. A vague part of him was glad to have an excuse to skip Physics today, if he survived.

"Tori, it isn't like they're going to disappear if we don't get there on time."

"We have been waiting for something like this and I don't feel like poking around."

"Right." He just didn't want to be walking towards a white light.

Things were slowly coming to a head—this would be the point in the video game where the ethereal mentor read their quest from the mystical scroll, after a few levels spent collecting life and experience with the game. Then they would embark on their heroic quest, collecting the parts they needed to defeat the ultimate evil at the end. Ethan smirked to himself, but stifled a yelp as Tori swung the van into the parking lot. Somehow, she got it neatly parked between Dustin's Volkswagon Beetle and someone else's champagne Sportage. He really wanted to know how she did that—he didn't have a car and it had been a while since he drove.

"Who's got the blue sports utility?" he asked as they got out of the van.

He watched as Tori paused. Neither of them had seen the car before and that said something since Tori, at least, knew which cars belonged in the parking lot and which ones didn't. "It's a rental car," she said after a pause, pointing to the Enterprise logo.

"Oh." He would never understand how he could pick up things like that in video games and movies, but never in real life. "Who's got a rental car?"

She shrugged. "Probably Chad or Billy." She glanced at her watch. "It's nearly nine, I'd assume most places like that open at eight or so."

"Or a student got in a wreck."

Tori smirked and started jogging down the rough path towards the portal. "We have just ninja-streaked," he called after her. His dino-gem had been responsible for the majority of his fighting skills and super-powers. When the gem's power was depleted in their final battle with Mesogog, most of his prowess as a fighter went with it. He'd been slowly gaining some of that back in his training with Dustin, but not like it was when he was a ranger. For a while, he'd been resigned to the fact that he'd only be a good defender in video games.

The past week felt much longer than it had actually been. Dustin had pronounced himself amazed at Ethan's progress, having him sit in on the more advanced classes. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, like the earth was his ally and, when he used that, things like dirt-diving and manipulating the earth came naturally. Each day he felt himself embracing it more and more. He could see the same thing happening to Sky, except that he had to exercise a greater amount of control. If the fire went out of control, there was not a lot to stop it. So far, he'd kept his efforts confined to bonfires and candles, but Ethan knew he'd have to branch out.

The attraction and repulsion between the elements also fascinated him. He'd noticed that earth welcomed water to a certain extent. Too much water overwhelmed earth and Ethan found himself wary of water. It was not because he believed that Tori had nefarious intent, but because he wanted to keep his element in top shape. Fire also had a fear of too much water, but it was not in excess—it was that water could thoroughly extinguish a fire. Earth also interacted, but in a more subtle way. Earth feared fire, but for the devastation. On the other hand, earth could also stamp out fire. It was a give and take, a push and pull. In balance, each had nothing to fear from the other and could work in harmony.

But they had yet to see how air and moonlight would enter that blend.

Before he knew it, they were standing before the portal. The grounds were fairly quiet, except for one samurai class running through their katas in the practice field. "Took you long enough," Billy called from the porch as they approached.

The original Blue Ranger was smoking—again. "Smoking is bad for you, you know," Ethan commented.

Billy snorted. "I can do this without alcohol or without cigarettes." He shrugged. "I figure that smoking is the lesser of two evils." He paused. "And I am well aware of how bad smoking is—I did a lung model complete with the spaghetti stuff in community college."

"Bear! Turtle!"

They turned to see a tall, lithe woman, with brown hair and a white dress coming onto the porch. She smiled didn't falter as she took in Billy smoking. She focused her attention on them, beaming.

"Princess Shayla?" Ethan asked, suddenly feeling like he was in a bad video game.

"Yes," she said with a grin.

She seemed… way too innocent. _This_ was going to be interesting.

* * *

Tori watched as Sky lit a match, holding it under the tinder in his fire. He gently blew on the tiny flame, the fire catching and spreading. She had a feeling that he'd be able to get wet wood to remain lit if he had a mind to. He seemed satisfied that the fire had caught, because he added some of his kindling. A wry smile spread over her face as she remembered his comment about having been an Eagle Scout.

They sat around the fire, on low benches situated in the fire circle. The morning and subsequent afternoon had been a little chaotic. Billy had become their de facto leader, giving orders, setting up his own computer network and generally sounding like he was going to die of lung cancer. He looked haggard in the flickering light. Princess Shayla had been insistent that the explanations happen after dark when "Tiger's power was strongest." Chad was sipping a mug of hot chocolate—quiet as always, but Tori had a feeling that his laconic speech hid something else, sharp eyes that seemed to observe everything.

Ethan just appeared anxious to hear their explanations, no doubt equating it to a computer game in his mind. Shayla just appeared serene and calm, although Tori had no idea how she kept up that façade.

"Rangers," she began, standing up as Sky moved to one of the benches. "You all know about your elements and animal spirits. I have heard the murmurs and groaning of the earth. Ancient magic is breaking up and the earth will soon fall to chaos."

"That was vague," Billy said under his breath.

The princess studiously ignored him. "You all know that long ago the warriors of ancient Animaria and the ninjas communed with the Faerie. This is the spiritual force that protects and guides the earth—it was so named for the fantastic creatures that it manifested." She paused. "Ancient Animaria fell and the animal spirits retreated to the clouds with me. The ninjas slowly stopped communing with the Faerie as too few of their number sang to the moonlight." She paused again. "Volatile and following codes in their own hearts, the fire ninjas stepped to the ways of the Shadow and abdicated from the ninja order."

"We know all that," Sky said.

"Without that, the elemental balance is off."

"We know that too," Sky continued impatiently. "What we don't know is what that means for us."

The princess frowned at that. Tori felt her heart constrict. People always paused before delivering bad news. "You five, as Blue Rangers, have worn the universal color, the vivid color that all the world knows. Because of that, you have been chosen by the animal spirits to heal the earth, bring balance to the elements."

"Nice to know about the chosen part," Ethan piped up. "But how are we supposed to bring balance to the elements?"

"You each must train and learn about your elements. Once you have mastered your elements and learned to use the elements in harmony, you must descend into earth's dreamscape and bring the balance there."

She waited, probably waiting for a dramatic gasp or click of understanding. Tori fought the urge to smirk. Five faces stared blankly at her, each distorted oddly in the firelight. Princess Shayla let out an imperceptible sigh.

"In order to heal the earth, you must heal yourselves. The dreamscape is in chaos. When you descend to it, it will try to stop you," she paused, then added, "Those of you who study science will know this as the Law of Entropy."

"Things automatically descend towards chaos," Billy muttered.

"It will always be slightly chaotic, but the balance must be restored. Fire must be brought from the Shadow to the Light. Wolf, you will be working against centuries of fire ninjas that placed the fire in the Shadow. You will not be alone, but the path of the fire is yours to follow. Tiger, the moonlight is sleeping. You must commune with the Faerie once more, awaken the moonlight and restore its protective balm." She shook her head. "Air, earth and water are not used to the balance of five. They must be adjusted and accept their missing elements once more. The path is long and hard."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Chad ventured tentatively.

"They say that in video games and look what happens," Ethan shot back.

"You are the balm to heal the earth," Shayla said softly. "The other option is a dark road of destruction and sorrow. You were all Power Rangers—you defended the earth. Now you have the chance to heal it, preserve it for generations to come."

"What if we don't? I haven't lived here. It doesn't matter," Billy spat.

"Tiger," Shayla said sadly. "You must have faith. You care about the earth as much as the others, but you have closed your heart. You all must heal yourselves. It will not be easy—I will be here to help and guide you." She paused. "If you do not heal the earth, the ancient warrior will destroy the Faerie, the protective magic. Earth will be thrown into a period of chaos as nature tries to restore the balance. I will not say that your way of life will be obliterated, but subtle changes will grow, ripples will affect others, nothing will be the same."

She looked around the small circle. "Please, if not for yourselves, for the others."

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I don't wanna go to Girl Scout camp! Gee Mom, I wanna go back where the toilet flows! Gee Mom, I wanna go home!_


End file.
